Class B»nk ^ \U COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY BY ROBERT McNUTT McELROY, Ph.D. ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF AMERICAN HISTORY PRINCETON UNIVERSITY ILLUSTRATED, WITH MAP AND HISTORICAL PORTRAITS NEW YORK MOFFAT, YARD AND COMPANY 1909 Y\\^- Copyright, 1909, by MOFFAT, YARD AND COMPANY All rights reserved Published, November, 1909 ©CLA251S9S CONTENTS Author's Preface I. The Vanguard of the Westward Movement . II. Transylvania, the Last Experiment in Proprietary Government ..... III. Kentucky's Part in the American Revolution IV. Kentucky Enters the Union . V. Harmar, Wilkinson and St. Clair , VI. One Phase of the Genet Mission . VII. Conflicts over the Commercial Highway of the West VIII. The Kentucky Resolutions of 1798 and 1799 IX. Kentucky and the Purchase of Louisiana X. The Burr Conspiracy ..... XI. Kentucky in the War of 18 12 XII. A Chapter in Financial History XIII. Kentucky in the War with Aiexico XIV. Last Days of the " Great Commoner." . XV. Atchison, Dixon and the Repeal of the Missouri Com promise ....... XVI. Loyal to the Union ..... A Critical Bibliography of Kentucky History Index ..... 33 62 114 147 163 185 21 1 265 277 315 111 408 455 483 500 547 579 PREFACE As this volume represents a conscious departure from the customary method of deahng with State history, a word of explanation, as to my object, is necessary. The real aim of the study of State history, as I conceive it, should be to add to our knowledge of the nation, as the day for the cultivation of a purely local patriotism — if, in- deed, that day ever existed — has passed forever. To write of the history of a State as though it were something apart from the nation is not only to violate the "unity of his- tory," but also to deprive the nation of a valuable source of information concerning national events. In making historical investigations, from time to time, I have been impressed by the fact that much material, bearing upon the nation's history, lies buried in local archives and pri- vate collections. For the student of purely local history, most of this material is of little value, relating, as it does, to distinctly national questions, vv^hile, to the national historian, it is inaccessible, it being obviously impossible for the investigator, in such broad fields, to delve very deeply into local treasuries. In the preparation of the present volume, I have studied the local collections from the point of view of one primarily interested in the nation. Such local events as have had a distinctly national influence, as well as such national events as have particularly affected local conditions, have been my concern. A typical example of the first is presented in PREFACE the Kentucky Resolutions of 1798, and, of the second, in the purchase of Louisiana. I have been primarily aided, in my work, by the fact that, for over half a century. Colonel Reuben T. Durrett, the father and president of the Filson Club, has devoted himself to the task of collecting and preserving all avail- able material, bearing upon Kentucky. His priceless col- lection has been placed at my disposal, and I have, also, freely drawn upon his unexcelled knowledge of Kentucky history, in all of its phases; while a large portion of my manuscript, when completed, was carefully examined and criticised by him. For information, given in personal interviews, I am particularly indebted to General Simon Bolivar Buckner, Colonel J. Stoddard Johnston, and Mr. Justice Harlan of the United States Supreme Court, of whom the latter rendered me the great service of reading the major part of the proof sheets of the book. " wodoneyo," North New Castle, Maine, September 23, 1909. LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS PAGE , Henry Clay as a young man .... Frontispiece From a miniature now in possession of Mrs. John Clay, of Lexington^ Kentucky. Daniel Boone 26^' From a sketch by John Trumbull, now in the possession of Colonel Reuben T. Durrett, of Louisville, Kentucky. General James Wilkinson 142 / From a life-size portrait by Jarvis, now in the possession of Colonel Reuben T. Durrett, of Louisville, Kentucky. / George Rogers Clark 17° From a life-size portrait by Matthew Harris Jouett, now in the posses- sion of Colonel Reuben T. Durrett, of Louisville, Kentucky. Fac-simile of letter from Thomas Jefferson to J. Cabell Breckinridge regarding the Kentucky Resolutions . 230 Reproduced by the courtesy of Mr. Desha Breckenridge and his sister. Dean Breckenridge, of the University of Chicago. Reduced fac-simile of the original text of the Kentucky Resolutions of 1798, as printed and distributed by order of the Legislature 258 Map of Battle of the Thames 352 - Henry Clay as an old man 480 From a daguerreotype now in the possession of Mrs. Robert Dick Wilson, of Princeton, N. J. The Document given to General Simon Bolivar Buckner by President Lincoln, stating his attitude toward Kentucky neutrality 536 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY CHAPTER I THE VANGUARD OF THE WESTWARD MOVEMENT For almost two hundred years after the first voyage of Columbus the interior of the North American conti- nent remained a trackless wilderness. The adventurous Spaniards in the South, in their mad search for gold, had indeed discovered the Mississippi River, and had buried within its mysterious waters the body of their heroic leader, De Soto, but of the sources of that river, and of the great valley drained by it, the world was al- most as ignorant in 1692 as it had been two hundred years earlier. Those two centuries had been centuries of such rapid progress in geographical discovery that it had been quite impossible for even the educated classes to assimi- late the geographical knowledge laid before them, and it is in no wise remarkable that, even after the permanent colonization of the Atlantic seaboard was well under way, men should have followed with eagerness every strip of water extending westward, in the hope that it would lead them into the great South Sea which Balboa had discov- ered and Magellan had been the first to cross. It is quite natural also that among the instructions sent by the Vir- ginia Company (1608) to Captain John Smith and his fellow colonists at Jamestown, was the command to dis- Kentucky — i i 2 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY cover a passage to the South Sea,^ and that Henry Hudson should have followed, with the same hope, the course of the mighty river which bears his name.^ What was true of these men was true of many who followed them. It took an enormous amount of investi- gation to convince the world that the continent of North America was a vast mainland, through which it was vain to seek a passage by water to the Pacific, and it should not astonish us, therefore, to find that the two men who, at almost the same time, discovered the Kentucky region were engaged in this search. Of these the first was no less a personage than the famous explorer, Robert Cavelier de La Salle, a na- tive of Rouen in France, who at the age of twenty-three had migrated to Canada and was soon deeply involved in studying this problem. His faith in the existence of such a stream was strengthened from time to time by Indian tales, those uncertain guides which had led many a gallant explorer to his death. Entering the Alle- gheny near its source, he passed down the Ohio, until he came to the Falls where the city of Louisville now stands.^ "In making this long journey," says Colonel Durrett,^ "he was the discoverer of Kentucky from the Big Sandy to the Rapids of the Ohio, and was the first white man whose eyes looked Eastward from the beautiful river to 1 J. A. Doyle, "The English in America," p. 165; J. E. Cooke, "Virginia," P- 45- ' Fiske, "Discovery of America," II, p. 546. 3 I purposely omit the somewhat doubtful claim that Louis de Moscoso in 1543 passed along the southern boundary line of Kentucky with his forlorn band of Spanish adventurers. Collins, I, 14 and 509. Durrett'a "Filson," p. 32, accepts the story. "Encyclopaedia Britannica," La Salle. 4 Durrett'a "Centenary of Kentucky," p. 15. VANGUARD OF THE WESTWARD MOVEMENT 3 the Bluegrass Land which forms the Garden Spot of the State." Only two years after La Salle's visit, there came into the Kentucky region the representative of the race which was soon to dispute with France the possession of the district. In 167 1, General Abraham Wood, by the au- thority of the testy old Tory Governor of Virginia, Sir Wil- liam Berkeley, sent out Captain Thomas Batts with a party in search of the river which would lead to the Pa- cific Ocean. ^ Whether or not Batts actually crossed the Big Sandy and entered the territory now comprised in the State of Kentucky, it is quite impossible to determine from his journal, but he at least traced the pathway from the old settlements of Virginia to the trackless wilderness beyond the mountains.^ For almost half a century after the Batts expedition, we have no record or tradition of visits of white men to the wilderness of Kentucky. And when we again come, with the year 1730,^ to brief records of such visits they tell us 1 Cf . Durrett's "Centenary of Kentucky," p. 13. Colonel Durrett has in his collection a MS. copy of Captain Batts' " Journal." It is published in Vol. Ill of the "Documents Relative to the Colonial History of New York," pp. 193-197- 2 This is probably the journey which Daniel Coxe had in mind when, in his " Description of the English Province of Carolana," he tells of a certain Col- onel Wood of Virginia, who had discovered various branches of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. Durrett's "Centenary of Kentucky," p. 12; Butler's Ken- tucky, 2d Ed., p. 499; Collins, I, p. 14; Long's "Expedition," I, p. 236; Albach's "Western Annals," p. 94, repeat the story. 3 In 1730, however, a certain John Sailing of Williamsburg, Va., was cap- tured near the James River by a band of Cherokee Indians and carried as far as the Salt Licks of Kentucky. Here he made his escape, but was again captured by a band of Illinois Indians and taken on to Kaskaskia, whence, having es- caped a second time, he returned to Virginia, probably by way of the Cumber- land Gap. "The Annals of Kentucky" (Collins, I, p. 15) state that Sailing was ransomed at Kaskaskia and returned to Virginia by way of Canada. Cf. also Wither's "Border Warfare," p. 43; Butler's "Kentucky," 2d Ed., p. 21. 4 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY still only of chance wanderings in the region, and give very little beyond the bare statement of personal hardships and dangers.* The knowledge of the western wilderness which the reports of such casual visitors gave to the people of Vir- ginia, and of the other settlements east of the mountains, must have been extremely vague, but in spite of their ignorance concerning the district lying beyond the west- ern mountains the people of Virginia, as early as 1749, had begun to cast wistful glances in that direction, suspecting that the day was soon to come when this country would be of value, and questioning how they could best secure those lands, whose ownership the French were already preparing to dispute with them. Following the precedent set by England in her efforts to colonize the Atlantic seaboard, some of her leading citizens organized land companies with a view to buying up vast tracts of this western wilderness, inducing settlers to migrate thither by giving them grants of land, and thus causing the rest to rise in value so as to repay the expenses of the venture. The most important of these companies, from the stand- point of Kentucky history, were the so-called "Loyal Company" and the "Ohio Company." Of these the former was the first to act, and Dr. Thomas Walker of Albemarle County, Virginia, was selected to take charge of the task of locating lands granted it by Virginia. Late 1 In 1739 Longueil descended the Ohio fronn Canada and discovered the famous Big Bone Lick in Kentucky, and the same year the hostile attitude of the Chickasaw Indians caused the French authorities in Canada to send troops down the Ohio to punish them. "Annals," Collins, I, p. 15. Durrett's "Filson," pp. 31-32; De Hass, "Western Virginia," p. 48, note; for description of visit of John Howard, in 1742, which served as one of the grounds for the English claim to the Ohio Valley. Collins, I, p. 15, note. VANGUARD OF THE WESTWARD MOVEMENT 5 in the summer of 1749 he prepared his expedition, con- sisting of himself and five companions.^ On March 6, 1750, they began their journey toward the west and shortly reached the pass in the mountains named by them Cumberland Gap.^ Crossing through this they came into southeastern Kentucky, which had never before been visited by white men, and proceeding to the Cumberland River, ascended it to a point near the present town of Barboursville.^ On the northwest side of 1 Colonel Durrett, in his "Centenary of Kentucky," which I follow largely in discussing this topic, says that of these five men the names of only three, Ambrose Powell, Colby Chew and Tomlinson are preserved. P. 21. Collins, however, gives two lists, one mentioning only Walker, Powell and Chew (Vol. II, p. 415), while in the other he mentions Walker, Wood, Paton, Buchanan and Captain Charles Campbell by name and adds that others also were with him. Vol. I, p. 510. Walker's own journal, however, settles the matter at the very beginning thus: "Having, on the 12th of December last, been employed for a certain consideration to go Westward in order to discover a proper place for settlement, I left my house on the sixth day of March, at ten o'clock, 1749-50, in company with Ambrose Powell, William Tomlinson, Colby Chew, Henry Lawless and John Hughes. ..." Journal reproduced in Johnson's "First Explorations of Kentucky" (Filson Club Publications, No. 13). This opening sentence is quoted by Hulbert — "Boone's Wilder- ness Road," p. 50. 2 The year of the discoveiy, says Collins, was preserved by the distinct recol- lection of Dr. Walker himself and by the fact that Powell carved his name and the date 1750 upon a tree near the gap. This inscription was pointed out to Isaac Shelby by Dr. Walker in 1770. Collins, II, p. 416. Marshall, 1824 Ed., I, p. 6, is evidently at error when he assigns the dis- covery of Cumberland Gap to an expedition made by Walker in 1758. The "Journal" of this expedition, a copy of which is among the Durrett MSS., omits ten days, and they happen to be the ten days which should contain an account of the passage through the "Gap." This probably accounts for the confusion which has arisen concerning the discovery of the "Gap." Walker's "Journal" was published in 1888 by Little, Brown & Co. 3 The Barboursville in what is now Knox County, Kentucky, must not be confused with the Barboursville just east of Huntington in West Virginia. Pownall, in his "North America," p. 34, says, "As for the branches of the Ohio which head in the New Virginia, I am particularly obliged to Dr. Thomas Walker, for the intelligence of what names they bear, and what Rivers they fall into. ..." 6 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY the river they selected the site for the erection of the head- quarters of the proposed settlements. Land was cleared and a log house constructed. It was completed on April 25, 1750, and was the first house erected by white men within the State. ^ But the builders, terrified by wandering bands of savages, deserted their "settlement" only a few days after its completion, and twenty years passed before this or any other site within the Kentucky wilderness served as a permanent abode for the hardy adventurers from be- yond the mountains. Meanwhile the Ohio Company^ had been organized with the same purpose,^ and on October 31, 1750, its agent, Christopher Gist, had set out from the banks of the Potomac, following an Indian trail which led from Wills' Creek to the Ohio.^ After an extended tour through the country north of the Ohio, Gist returned to the mouth of the Scioto, and prepared to descend to the Great Falls. This he was cautioned by his Indian friends not to do, as a large party of Indians, allies of the French, they told 1 Durrett's " Centenary of Kentucky," p. 22; Hulbert's " Boone's Wilder- ness Road," p. 64, give one possible exception, 12 cabins by French at mouth of Scioto. Durrett's "Filson," p. 32, says, "A French Map, published by Robert de Vaugondy in 1755, shows 'Walker's Etabliss Anglois,' on a branch of the Cumberland River, in 1750." It, however, does not appear on Filson's Map. 2 This should not be confused with the Great Ohio Company formed in 1787, to plant colonies in the Northwest Territory, whose influence caused the old Congress of the Confederation to pass the famous Ordinance of 1787, which was confirmed by Congress under the Constitution and which laid the foundations of our territorial system. Fiske's "Critical Period," p. 203. 3 It had received royal permission to select and settle 500,000 acres in the western country. For stockholders, regulations, etc., see Bancroft, 1890 Ed., II, p. 343; Wilson's "History of the American People," II, p. 77. * Gist's " Journal" contains text of his instructions, "to search out . . . lands upon the river Ohio . . . down as low as the great falls thereof." . . . Durrett MSS. VANGUARD OF THE WESTWARD MOVEMENT 7 him, were hunting in that neighborhood. Gist, however, was not to be easily deterred, and, attended only by a boy, he proceeded cautiously down the Kentucky side of the Ohio until within fifteen miles of the Falls. Here he came upon unmistakable signs that he was indeed in the midst of considerable bands of hostile savages. Wisely abandoning his plan of visiting the Falls he turned back to the Kentucky River. From the top of a mountain in this region, says Irving,^ "he had a view to the south- west as far as the eye could reach, over a vast wooded country in the fresh garniture of Spring, and watered by abundant streams; but as yet only the hunting ground of savage tribes, and the scene of their sanguinary combats. In a word, Kentucky lay spread out before him in all its wild magnificence. . . . For six weeks was this hardy pioneer making his toilsome way up the valley of the Cuttawa, or Kentucky River, to the Banks of the Blue Stone; often checked by precipices, and obliged to seek fords at the heads of tributary streams; and happy when he could find a buffalo path broken through the tangled forests, or worn into the everlasting rocks." On the first of May, 1 75 1 , from a tall rock on the top of a mountain, he saw the great Kanawha forcing its passage through the enclosing cliffs. After crossing this river and traveling many weary days, he reached his own frontier abode on the banks of the Yadkin. Upon this long journey Gist had seen some of the best parts of Kentucky, as well as of the country north of the Ohio,^ and his re- 1 Irving's "Washington," 1875 Ed., I, p. 23. 2 Copy of Gist's "Journal," Durrett MSS., in Pownall's "North America," Appendix VI. It indicates that Gist traveled by the aid of a compass, while Walker's "Journal" gives nothing to indicate that he had a compass with him. Durrett's "Centenary of Kentucky," p. 34. 8 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY port must have impressed the stockholders of the Ohio Company with the value of their grant. He also doubt- less impressed upon their minds the fact that the French were encroaching upon that grant with all the energy which they could command. It is quite easy to see, there- fore, why Robert Dinwiddie, one of the twenty stock- holders of the Ohio Company, when made Lieutenant Governor of Virginia in 1752,^ should have displayed so keen an interest in what the French were doing in the Ohio Valley.^ It is also easy to see why, when he thought the time for protest had arrived, he should have chosen as his official herald, George Washington, half-brother to Augustine Washington, the President of the Ohio Com- pany,^ and to Lawrence Washington, one of the leading stockholders. The story of how that young Virginian, piloted by Gist, conveyed the message of Governor Dinwiddie to the French Commander in the Ohio Val- ley and returned with what was really a declaration of war, belongs to the history of the world, marking as it does the opening of one of the greatest wars in all history.^ " The Journals " of Walker and Gist ^ give us the first de- scriptions of the wilderness of Kentucky "as it came from the hands of the Creator." They tell of a country as rich and as beautiful as any on earth, yet utterly devoid of in- habitants, with the exception of a few Indians gathered in towns along the northern boundary line ^ and a few 1 Wilson's "History of the American People," II, pp. 76 and 77. 2 living's "Washington," 1875 Ed., I, p. 27. 3 Wilson's "History of the American People," II, p. 79. * The war known in European History as The Seven Years' War. 5 Pownall's "North America," Appendix VI, for Gist's " Journal." Durrett MSS. contain copies of both " Journals." 8 Gist's "Journal" describes a Shawnee town located near the site of the present city of Portsmouth, Ohio, containing about three hundred Indians and VANGUARD OF THE WESTWARD MOVEMENT 9 along the Mississippi River. This was due to the fact that Kentucky — "the Dark and Bloody Ground," or "The Middle Ground," as John Filson, following the practice of the Indians themselves, names it ^ — lay just between the territory north of the Ohio, occupied by the Iroquois, and the home of the less powerful Cherokees who dwelt to the south. Each of these savage nations laid claim to Kentucky, and each used every art known to savage warfare to make good its claim. Their war parties often met within the disputed territory, and so constant was the conflict that no permanent Indian villages could be estab- lished in the district. Thus it happened that Gist and Walker found it a solitary wilderness, containing few signs even of former habitation, with the exception of very ancient mounds and fortifications thickly scattered along the eastern borders and becoming less frequent as they having "about forty houses on the South side of the river and about one hundred on the North side." Under date of Tuesday, the 29th of January, 1751, George Croghan, in his "Journal of 1765" (reprint Butler Appendix), ex- plains that the houses on the south side had been built after a great flood, which had rendered the lower banks of the northern side uninhabitable. 1 "The Discovery, Settlement, and Present State of Kentucke," by John Filson, p. 7. The Delawares and Shawnees called the vast undefined tract of land south of the Ohio by the name " Kuttaawa," meaning "The Great Wilderness." This name was long used interchangeably with the Iroquois word "Kentake," meaning "The Place of Meadows" or "The Hunting Grounds." Another origin of the name is given by John Johnson, who for years resided among the Shawnees. He declared that Kentucky is a Shawnee word meaning "At the head of the River" ("Archaeologia Americana," I, p. 299). Marshall, however, declares that the name was derived from that of a "deep channeled and clifty river, called by the Indians, Kan-tuck-kee, which they pronounced with a strong emphasis." Marshall's "History of Kentucky," 1824 Ed., I, p. i. On pages 8 and 9 of the same volume, however, Marshall adds that in con- sequence of frequent combats between the savages upon the Kentucky soil — "the country being thickly wooded, and deeply shaded — was called in their expressive language, The Dark and Bloody Ground." lo KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY approached the west.^ There were, it is true, a few Shawnee villages to the north, but they were merely the 1 These mounds, formerly believed to have been built by a prehistoric peo- ple called by the non-committal name of "Mound Builders," have been for years the puzzle of archaeologists. They are often of solid masonry and indi- cate a degree of building skill far beyond that of the historic savages of the regions near the Ohio River. There are indications also that the use of metal as well as stone was well understood in Kentucky before the historic period begins. In the "Kentucky Gazette" of June 7, 1790, appears an account of the discovery of an old lead mine near Lexington which had been worked apparently years before the appearance of the earliest explorers. In a manuscript, dated Philadelphia, March 17, 1792, an unnamed trav- eler has left this record of his visit to some of the mounds of this western region, "Many tokens remain," he says, "of that country being in ancient ages as well cultivated and as thickly inhabited as the country on the Danube or the Rhine." "A copper mine," he continues, "was opened some years since, farther down the Mississippi, and, to the great surprise of the labourers, a large collection of mining tools were found several fathoms below the super- ficies of the earth." Durrett MSS. Mr. Thomas Bodley was informed by Indians of various tribes northwest of the Ohio, that they had a tradition, common among many tribes, "that Kentucky had been settled by whites, and they had been exterminated by war. They were of the opinion that the old fortifications, now to be seen in Ken- tucky and Ohio, were the productions of those white inhabitants." Dur- rett MSS. Another tradition asserts that the last battle for the extermination of these original white inhabitants was fought at the Falls of the Ohio — "that the In- dians succeeded in driving the Aborigines into a small island below the rapids, where the whole of them were cut to pieces." Durrett MSS. An examination at low water of this island, so runs another of these inter- esting old documents, revealed a multitude of human bones, and an "Indian Chief . . . told General Clark . . . that the battle of Sandy Island decided finally the fall of Kentucky, with its ancient inhabitants." Durrett MSS. Colonel Joseph Davies reports that a few remaining members of an almost extinct tribe of Sacks whom he interviewed at St. Louis in 1800 expressed astonishment that anyone should live in Kentucky, "filled," as they said, "with the manes of its butchered inhabitants." The statement was also re- peated by them that the aborigines of this country were white and possessed such arts as were unknown by the Indians. Durrett MSS. Another of these accounts reports the discovery of "a furnace of brick work five fathoms below the present surface; and in this furnace were found a quantity of coals and firebrands which, for aught we know, might have been kindled in the days of Moses or Lycurgus." Durrett MSS. VANGUARD OF THE WESTWARD MOVEMENT 1 1 advance guard of their allies, "the Iroquois," and their presence was not noticed by the first explorers.^ These expeditions of Walker and Gist, however, at- tracted so little attention that when the first Kentucky his- torian, John Filson, set about gathering data for his book, he seems to have heard no hint of them, but settled upon James McBride as the discoverer of the region, upon the very insufficient evidence that his initials and the year had been carved upon a tree at the mouth of the Ken- tucky River in 1754.^ From this visit of McBride, if such a visit ever occurred, and the evidence for it is indeed slight, until the Peace of Paris (1763), which closed the long wars between France and England for the possession of Canada and the Ohio Valley, we have no clear record of any voluntary visit of white men to Kentucky.^ Corporate For brief description of mounds on the site of Louisville, see Durrett's "Centenary of Louisville," pp. 9-11. The great Shawnee Chief Cornstalk, repeating a tradition very common among the Indians along the Ohio, told Colonel M'Kee that Ohio and Ken- tucky had once been inhabited by white men who possessed arts vastly supe- rior to those of the Indian tribes. These inhabitants, he said, after many bloody contests, had been exterminated. Among the Durrett MSS. are a number of ancient depositions preserving tales of this character which have been, from time to time, collected by the owner. 1 The position of their villages is marked on Filson's Map, 1784; cf. Gist's "Journal," March 13. 2 The pioneers declared that Filson "could ask more questions than every- body and answer fewer than anybody." Durrett's "Life and Writings of John Filson," p. 16; Collins, I, pp. 16 and 519. "On croit que M. James Bride est le premier homme blanc qui ait eu con- naissance de Kentucke. En 1754, acompagne de quelques amis il descendit I'Ohio dans des canots, aborda I'embouchure de la riviere Kentucke, et y marqua trois arbres, avec les premieres lettres de son nom, et la date du jour et de I'annee." "Histoire de Kentucke," par M. Parrand. This is a transla- tion of Filson's " Kentucke." 3 A number of expeditions to Kentucky and the neighboring regions along the Ohio took place soon after the Peace of Paris, 1763, e. g.: 12 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY enterprise, such as that contemplated by the " Loyal Com- pany" and the "Ohio Company," had ceased as soon as the war began, and, at its close. King George the Third is- sued his famous Proclamation of 1763, which seemed a deathblow to all projects for the settlement of the vast wilderness beyond the mountains, as it provided that the British possessions south of Canada and west of the Al- leghany Mountains should be marked off and kept as an Indian reservation ^ into which no white settlers might enter. Arrangements were promptly made for the survey of (a) Col. George Croghan's tour down the Ohio in 1765 is of considerable interest on account of the elaborate " Journal" which he kept. This " Journal," with an account of the various forms in which it has been published, is given in Vol. I of Thwaite's "Early Western Travels," pp. 127-173, and contains, under the dates of May 30 and 31, an interesting account of the Great Bone Licks of Kentucky. (b) In 1766 occurred the trip of Captain Harry Gordon, Chief Engineer in the Western Department in North America, from Fort Pitt down the Ohio River. In speaking of the Falls opposite the present site of Louisville, Gordon says (July 16), "The waters at the Falls were low; it being the Summer. . . . Several boats passed it at the very dryest season of the year, when the waters are at the lowest, by unloading one-third their freight. . . . They passed on the North side, where the carrying place is three-fourths of a mile long; and on the Southeast side it is about half that distance, and is reckoned the safest passage for those who are unacquainted. ..." showing that the Ohio was even at this early period considerably used as a highway. 1 A Map on p. 137 of Channing's "Student's History of the United States" shows the limits of this reserved strip. The Proclamation says: "... And we do further declare it to be our royal will and pleasure, for the present, . . . to reserve under our sovereignty, protection, and dominion, for the use of the said Indians, all the land and territories not included within the limits of our said three new governments, or within the limits of the territory granted to the Hudson's Bay Company; as also the westward of the sources of the rivers which fall into the sea from the west and north-west; . . . and we do hereby strictly forbid ... all our loving subjects from making any purchases or settlements whatever, or taking possession of any of the lands above reserved, without our special leave and license for that purpose first obtained." Text of Proclamation of 1763, Macdonalds "Select Charters," p. 271. VANGUARD OF THE WESTWARD MOVEMENT 13 the line.^ John Stuart,^ Indian agent for the southern colonies, and Sir WiUiam Johnson, agent for the north- ern district, were appointed for the important work. The latter appointment was particularly fortunate for the history of Kentucky, for Johnson, deliberately neg- lecting his instructions,^ ran his part of the line down the Ohio River to the mouth of the Tennessee, thus leaving east of the line of demarcation, almost the whole of what is now Kentucky, and exempting it from the restrictions which the Proclamation imposed upon the reserved dis- trict.^ Thus Kentucky was thrown open to white ex- plorers and settlers, while the other regions west of the Alleghanies were closed by royal decree, and to this fact it is due, in no small degree, that she became the pioneer commonwealth of the West; for, in the valley of the Yadkin, the prince of pioneers was waiting to head the hosts who were to invade the "Dark and Bloody Ground," and to make of it an inhabited land. There were, as we have seen, other adventurers who, be- fore Boone's day, had traveled the unbroken wilderness of Kentucky. There were many, equally gallant, who fought by his side during the early days of the westward move- 1 Bancroft, 1859 Ed., VI, pp. 225, 226. 2 This Stuart should not be confounded with John Stewart, Boone's com- panion in the wilderness of Kentucky. 3 Johnson's instructions were to acknowledge the Cherokee claim to the re- gion west of the Kanawha. He, however, decided to reject the Cherokee claim and admit that of the Iroquois, as the Cherokees themselves had done some years before. At the Great Council of Fort Stanwix (Sept. -Oct., 1768), he in- duced the Iroquois to surrender their claim, and allow the western boundary of Virginia to be the Ohio River instead of the Kanawha. Winsor's "Westward Movement," pp. 16-17; Bancroft, 1859 Ed., VI, pp. 227-228. * Treaty of Fort Stanwix, 5 Nov., 1768; in appendix to Butler's "History of Kentucky," 1834 Ed.; also in the "Documentary History of New York," I, P- 587; Winsor's "Westward Movement," p. 17. / 14 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY ment, but it has always been the practice of historians to represent the events of epochs by singling out the leaders, and there can be no doubt that Boone was the leader among the simple backwoodsmen who opened up the Kentucky district for settlement. From the standpoint of civilized society Boone did not represent a high type, either of mind or of character. If Major Andre, when arrested near West Point, after his ne- gotiations with the traitor, Arnold, had attempted to pur- chase his release by displaying a bogus American commis- sion, no American tears would have been shed over his execution — ^yet Daniel Boone is reported ^ to have carried an old British commission which Lord Dunmore had given him, slung round his neck in a leather bag, and whenever he got into close quarters during the Revolution, to have displayed it as evidence that he was a loyal son of his Britannic majesty, George III, and an enemy to his re- bellious subjects, the colonists. Courage ^ was his in abundance, but courage was no unique quality in a country which had no attraction for a coward. Skill in woodcraft, resourcefulness in times of sudden and unexpected danger, untiring energy and stead- fastness of purpose, all these he possessed in a marked degree, as which of his fellow pioneers did not .? What made Daniel Boone the grandest specimen of a pioneer that our western annals recall, was the fact that, added to these qualities, he possessed that divinely given com- 1 Robert B. McAfee's "Journal," Durrett MSS.; Durrett's "Centenary of Kentucky," p. 29. 2 Filson makes Boone utter these words concerning fear: It is "vain if no danger comes, and if it does, only augments the pain. It was my happiness to be destitute of this affecting passion, with which I had the greatest reason to be affected," I VANGUARD OF THE WESTWARD MOVEMENT 15 mission of leadership, a most magnetic personality. Al- though totally unfit for the position of military command- ant of any considerable detachment of soldiers, Boone was a born general of pioneers, and so long as that peculiar type of leader was needed he was the first Kentuckian, though as soon as military leadership was required in the district, he stepped aside into the ranks, leaving the di- rection of affairs to that truly epic figure, George Rogers Clark. And when, a little later, Kentucky needed a politi- cal head, Clark, in his turn, gave place to the unworthy, though able commander, James Wilkinson. Of the early life of Daniel Boone practically nothing is known, although many biographies have been written of him, with some of which he would perhaps have been more than satisfied, and with all of which he would cer- tainly have been greatly amused.^ Among them there is no general agreement with reference to either the date or the place of his birth. ^ Until about his fortieth year Boone was so inconspicuous a member of society that little authentic data with reference to him was preserved; but we know that at some period of Daniel's youth his father moved to one of the valleys south of the Yadkin, in North Carolina,^ where Daniel was living his simple, and, 1 For list of Biographies, see bibliography in Appendix. 2 E. g., Bogart, p. 16, gives Feb. 11, 1735; Collins, II, p. 56, gives Feb. 11, 1731; Marshall, I, p. 17, gives it as "about 1746," etc. McClung, p. 46, says that Boone was born in Virginia; Marshall, I, p. 17, gives Maryland as his birthplace, while Nile, IV, p. 33, assures us that he was born in "Bridgeworth, Somersetshire, England." Peck says Boone was born in Bucks Co., Pa. Bogart says "near Bristol, on the right bank of the Delaware, about twenty miles from Philadelphia." Collins, ibid. 3 Collins, II, p. 56; John H. Wheeler in his "Historical Sketches of North Carolina" naturally claims him as a North Carolinian. "In North Carolina," he says, "Daniel Boone was reared. Here his youthful days were spent; and here 1 6 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY we might venture to say, idle life/ when the moment arrived for him to make his first dramatic entrance upon the stage of history. A party of hunters had recently made a long expedition into the wilderness of Kentucky ^ and had brought back stories so wonderful as to be scarcely credible. Boone, however, with no relish for the mo- notonous labor of caring for the growing crops, and filled with a passion for the virgin wilderness, was easily persuaded of their truth. He formed an intimacy with John Findlay,^ a member of the original hunt- ing party, and with him prepared the expedition which marks the beginning of his career as a really historic figure. "It was the first of May, in the year 1769," says Boone in the narrative dictated during his old age to the historian, John Filson, "that I resigned my domestic happiness for a time, and left my family and peaceable habitation on the Yadkin River, in North Carolina, to wander through the wilderness of America, in quest of the country of Kentucky." ^ His companions were John Findlay, John Stewart, Joseph Holden, James Mooney and William that bold spirit was trained, which so fearlessly encountered the perils through which he passed in after life. His fame is part of her property, and she has inscribed his name on a town in the region where his youth was spent." 1 Colonel Durrett remarks that for a pretended farmer to start to the wilder- ness on a hunting expedition, just at corn-planting season is a suspicious cir- cumstance, and leads one to suppose that Daniel was not overfond of the hoe. 2 John Filson's " Kentucke," pp. 7 and 8. This was the expedition of John Findlay which took place in 1767. Collins, I, p. 16, and II, p. 417, etc.; Mar- shall, I, pp. 2 and 5; Butler, 1834 Ed., p. 18. 3 Marshall, I, p. 2, spells the name Finlay and also calls him "the first to penetrate and explore" Kentucky. Collins, II, p. 177, uses both spellings, and speaks of another John Finley who came from Pennsylvania with a party in July, 1773, and passed down the Ohio and thence went into Fleming and Nicholas Counties. 4 John Filson's "Kentucke." VANGUARD OF THE WESTWARD MOVEMENT 17 Cool, and their object was not only to enjoy the excellent hunting which Findlay had so enthusiastically described, but at the same time to make a thorough examination of the region with a view to its permanent occupation. A vivid picture of this party as they took their first view of that promised land, after more than a month of travel, is drawn by John M. Peck.^ "Their dress was of the description usually worn at that period by all forest rangers. The outside garment was a hunting shirt, or loose open frock, made of dressed deerskins. Leggings or drawers, of the same material, covered the lower ex- tremities, to which was appended a pair of moccasins for the feet. The cape or collar of the hunting shirt and the seams of the leggings, were adorned with fringes. The under garments were of coarse cotton. A leather belt encircled the body; on the right side was suspended the tomahawk, to be used as a hatchet; on the left the hunting- knife, powder-horn, bag and other appendages indispen- sable for a hunter. Each person bore his trusty rifle; and, as the party slowly made their toilsome way amid the shrubs, and over the logs and loose rocks that accident had thrown into the obscure trail which they were follow- ing, each man kept a sharp lookout, as though danger or a lurking enemy was near. Their garments were soiled and rent, the unavoidable result of long traveling and ex- posure to the heavy rains that had fallen; for the weather had been stormy and most uncomfortable, and they had traversed a mountainous wilderness for several hundred miles. "The leader of the party was of full size, with a hardy, 1 "Daniel Boone," by John M. Peck; Jared Spark's " Library of American Biography," XIII, p. 23. Kentucky — 2 1 8 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY robust, sinewy frame, and keen, piercing hazel eyes, that glanced with quickness at every object as they passed on, now cast forward in the direction they were traveling for signs of an old trail, and in the next moment directed askance into the dense thicket, or into the deep ravine, as if watching some concealed enemy. The reader will recognize in this man the pioneer, Boone, at the head of his companions. "Towards the time of the setting sun, the party had reached the summit of the mountain range, up which they had toiled for some three or four hours, and which had bounded their prospect to the West during the day. Here new and indescribable scenery opened to their view. Be- fore them, for an immense distance, as if spread out on a map, lay the rich and beautiful vales watered by the Ken- tucky River; . . . far in the vista was seen a beautiful expanse of level country, over which the buffalo, deer, and other forest animals, roamed unmolested. . . ." ^ Here this little party which had come to spy out the land of promise, slept in peace and security, charmed with the view of as perfect a bit of nature's own handi- work as travelers have ever gazed upon. The days and weeks passed by in rapid succession; summer ripened into autumn and the dry leaves fell,^ while they still lingered upon the border-land of the vast Kentucky wilderness which they already began to consider their home. Then moving their camp from point to point, as 1 Boone himself made no such gorgeous story of it, "We proceeded success- fully," he says (Filson's "Kentucke"), "after a long and fatiguing journey through a mountainous wilderness, in a Westward direction; on the seventh day of June following, we found ourselves on the Red River . . . and from the top of an eminence, saw with pleasure the beautiful level of Kentucky." 2 Peck, p. 25. VANGUARD OF THE WESTWARD MOVEMENT 19 curiosity or the demands of the chase impelled, some- times following the broad roads which the vast herds of buffalo, deer and other game had made in their visits to the salt springs scattered at intervals through the region, sometimes turning aside to force a new passage through the matted underbrush or the tall canebrakes, they pushed steadily onward into the land of promise. The extreme caution which they had observed upon their first entrance into the wilderness had rapidly given place to a sense of perfect security, as they became more and more certain that the country was free from savage inhabitants. Finally for convenience of hunting, and in order that they might explore more widely, Boone and Stewart left the main camp and pushed on to the banks of the Ken- tucky (Louisa) River. "... We practiced hunting," says Boone, "with great success until the twenty-second day of December. This day John Stewart and I had a pleasing ramble; but fortune changed the scene in the close of it. We had passed through a great forest, on which stood myriads of trees; some gay with blossoms, others rich with fruit. Nature was here a series of wonders and a fund of delight. Here she displayed her ingenuity and industry in a variety of flowers and fruits, beautifully colored, elegantly shaped and charmingly flavored; and we were diverted with innumerable animals presenting themselves perpetually to our view." All this sounds, to one who has later wandered through those same forests at the Christmas season, as though the climate of this region has greatly changed since 1769, or, as is more likely, that John Filson, although professing to act as Boone's amanuensis, could not resist the tempta- 20 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY tion to adorn the narrative, and carelessly put on it a cos- tume quite inappropriate to the season. If, however, the author's testimony is not invalidated by this obviously imaginative description, we may venture to accept the next statement^ which he puts into the mouth of his hero: "In the decline of the day, near Kentucky River, as we ascended the brow of a small hill, a number of Indians rushed out of a thick cane-brake upon us, and made us prisoners. The time of our sorrow was now arrived, and the scene fully opened. The Indians plundered us of what we had, and kept us in confinement seven days, treating us with common savage usage." The captives, however, knowing the Indian character by long experience, manifested no desire to escape, and thus caused their captors to relax their vigilance. At last "... in the dead of night," says Boone, "as we lay in a thick cane-brake by a large fire, when sleep had locked up their senses, my situation not disposing me for rest, I touched my companion, and gently awoke him. We improved this favorable opportunity and departed, leaving them to take their rest. ..." With that instinct for direction which is the sixth sense of the real ^woodsman and which is quite unintelligible to men accustomed always to walk in beaten paths, Boone and his companion started at once for their old camp which lay miles away, in the dense forests now shrouded in the darkness of night. All the next day they traveled in a direct line, and when at last they reached the camp they found it plundered and desolate. ^ Their four com- 1 These extracts are taken from Boone's narrative in Filson's "Kentucke." 2 Here ends the story of John Findlay, the first white man to sing the praise VANGUARD OF THE WESTWARD MOVEMENT 21 panions had disappeared, leaving nothing to tell the tale of their fate. The condition of the camp seemed to indi- cate that they had perished at the hands of wandering Indians, though in that case it seems likely that some of the savages, in their frequent meetings with Boone, would have boasted, as was their custom, of the destruction of these men who had dared to attend him upon this first deliberate attempt to seize their hunting grounds.^ Boone and Stewart, thus left alone in the heart of the wilderness, in the dead of winter, and totally destitute of provisions, except such as they could obtain by the spar- ing use of the little powder which they had secured when escaping from their savage captors, were in the greatest peril; but they showed no desire to escape from so re- markable a situation. Instead they constructed another camp and continued as before to amuse themselves by hunting and exploring trips, waiting for they knew not what, but happy in the beauty and wildness of their sur- roundings. As the weeks passed by the little supply of ammunition began to grow dangerously small, and they were almost at an end of their resources when another marvel of pioneer courage and loyalty occurred. Alarmed by the long ab- sence of his brother. Squire Boone^ started from his North Carolina home, with a single companion, to make the long journey across the mountains in search of him. For any but the most skillful of woodsmen such a task would have been indeed hopeless. With no chart to guide them, with of a dwelling in the wilderness of Kentucky. What his end was, no man can tell. Collins, II, p. 56. 1 Bogart's "Daniel Boone," p. 62. 2 The tenth and next younger of old Squire Boone's children. There were seven sons and four daughters. Hartley, p. 14; Bogart, p. 63. 22 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY no knowledge of the location of the wanderers, amid thousands of miles of wild, unbroken forest, it seems little short of a miracle that early in January, 1770, they came upon the camp in which Daniel Boone and Stewart had spent the previous night.^ Even after this discovery it might have been a sufficiently difficult task for any but an Indian or a pioneer to find the wanderers. But to a woodsman so new a trail could not be missed, and shortly afterwards Daniel and Stewart were startled to see two human forms approaching through the forest. Instantly alert and on guard against surprises they watched the figures until, as they came within range of clear vision, Daniel recognized the beloved form of his faithful brother. This meeting was shortly followed by a new and terrible disaster. In spite of the lesson which Boone's and Stew- art's recent captivity should have taught them, the party was soon divided for purposes of more effective explora- tion and hunting, Daniel and Stewart ranging far beyond the camp,^ and "far beyond," to a Kentucky pioneer, meant no slight distance. The lurking savages, who had doubtless been waiting for just such an opportunity, sud- denly attacked them, and, though Daniel Boone managed to make his escape, Stewart was killed. Thus passed the first gallant martyr to the cause of western exploration, of whom the Kentucky annals can speak with certainty. A second soon followed. The unnamed companion of Squire Boone, not so ex- 1 "About this time," says Boone, in a more matter-of-fact and characteristic manner than Filson usually allows him to speak, "my brother. Squire Boone, with another adventurer, who came to explore the country shortly after us, was wandering through the forest, determined to find me, if possible, and acci- dentally found our camp." See also Collins, II, p. 57. 2 Bogart's "Boone," p. 65; Collins, II, pp. 56 and 57. VANGUARD OF THE WESTWARD MOVEMENT 23 pert a woodsman as his associates, wandered from the camp and was lost — at least so runs the story which seems most probable, as this man never again appeared among his friends in Carolina.^ Filson, however, gives a less pleasing account as coming from the lips of Daniel Boone. "The man who came with my brother," he says, as though ignorant of his very name, or too indignant to honor him by preserving it, "returned home by himself. We were then in a dangerous, helpless situation, exposed daily to perils and death amongst the savages and wild beasts; not a white man in the country but ourselves." ^ This would seem to most men a desperate condition, but it would be the height of absurdity to expend sym- pathy upon two such men in such a situation. They had chosen the wilderness because they loved it and because, in Filson's simple phrase, Daniel Boone considered him- self " an instrument ordained to settle the wilderness." ^/ And such indeed he was. "On the safety of these men," says Bogart,"* "rested the hope of a nation. Their defeat, their captivity, their death, would have chilled the vigour of enterprise, . . . without Boone the settlements could not have been upheld, and the conquest of Kentucky would have been reserved for the immigrants of the nineteenth century." Until May, 1770, the two brothers remained together in the rude huts which they constructed as circum- stances required, watched over by the Providence of Heaven and unobserved by the savage hunting parties 1 Peck's "Boone," p. 31; Bogart's "Boone," p. 66; variation of story, Collins, II. P- 57- 2 Filson's "Kentucke." 8 Filson's "Kentucke." * Bogart's "Boone," p. 80, 24 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY which the return of spring brought again from the Indian countries to the north and south of them. Then, as their hunting trips had reduced their scant supply of powder to the danger point, it was decided that Squire should "return home to the settlement by himself for a new recruit of horses and ammunition," leaving his brother alone, "without bread, salt or sugar, without company of my fellow creatures, or even a horse or dog."^ This journey occupied almost three months ^ and they would have been lonely months indeed for one by nature less inclined to solitude. "I confess," says Daniel Boone, "I never before was under greater necessity of exercis- ing philosophy and fortitude. A few days I passed un- comfortably." But on the whole they were doubtless happy and interesting months to the solitary woodsman, as he watched the wilderness blossom as a rose and added every day valuable specimens to his collection of peltries. As a pleasant diversion he made an extensive tour of exploration to the southwest, examining the country along the Salt and Green Rivers, alarmed at times by signs of prowling bands of Indians, but always managing to avoid them. Frequently he was forced to camp without a fire, and at times slept in the midst of the dense canebrakes to avoid detection. " Thus," he says, as if forgetting even the " few " un- comfortable days, " through an uninterrupted scene of sylvan pleasures,-"' I spent the time until the 27th day of 1 Filson's "Kentucke." 2 May I to July 27, 1770. Collins, II, p. 57, and Filson's "Kentucke," for dates. 3 Filson's "Kentucke." Lord Byron had evidently been reading Filson when he wrote: VANGUARD OF THE WESTWARD MOVEMENT 25 July [1770] following, when my brother, to my great felicity, met me according to appointment, at our old camp. . . ." Danger signs which could not escape the quick eyes of the brothers having convinced them that Indian hunting parties were again abroad, they now turned southvt^ard, and began explorations along the Cumber- land, where they found game even more abundant, but a much poorer quality of soil.^ Returning northward in March, 1771, they pushed on to the banks of the Ken- tucky, where they selected a point which they considered especially well adapted for the construction of the perma- nent settlement which they were eagerly planning to estab- lish,^ and, with this great idea before them, they packed a load of peltries upon each horse and retraced the toilsome road over the mountains to their families upon the banks of the Yadkin. Daniel Boone had spent some two years in the wilder- ness of Kentucky, during most of which time he had neither tasted bread nor seen the face of man, with the exception of his brother, his unfortunate fellow hunters now gone, and a few straggling Indians more animal than human; ^ but at its close he was a real Kentuckian, the first Kentuckian, ready at all times to speak in unmeas- " Of all men, saving Sylla, the man-slayer, Who passes for, in life and death, most lucky, Of the great names which in our faces stare, The General Boone, backwoodsman of Kentucky, Was happiest of mortals anywhere." —"Don Juan," VIII, Ixi. Again and again the dominant note of the Boone narrative is the happiness which came to him in his solitude. 1 Peck's "Boone," pp. 33 and 34. 2 Peck's "Boone," p. 34; Bogart's "Boone," p. 79. 3 Collins, II, p. 57; Peck's "Boone," p. 34. 26 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY ured praise of the land which, he says, "I esteemed a second paradise." ^ While Boone was thus wandering alone, supposing him- self the only white man in the region, a party of forty hunt- ers from "New river, Holston and Clinch," in Virginia, led by the wonderful stories which they had heard of the abun- dance of game in the district, left their homes and started upon a hunting expedition.^ Provided with dogs, traps and a hunter's outfit, they started westward and, passing through the Cumberland Gap, arrived in what is now Wayne County, Kentucky. Camping a few miles below the Cumberland River, they established a depot for trade with Indian hunters, and from this central point small bands wandered in various directions, hunting or exploring as their fancy dictated. Once in five weeks, according to agreement, they were to " round up " at headquarters, de- posit their pelts and relate their experiences. But the " calls of the wild " were too diverse for such a plan to be feasible. One band after another deserted the expedition, each being intent upon its own object. Ten of them con- structed transports, loaded them with skins and wild meat, and embarked upon the Cumberland for the Spanish fort at Natchez, whence they made the overland journey home- ward, comforted by the possession of considerable Spanish gold. Some lost themselves in the wilderness and doubtless fell a prey to prowling savages; while Colonel James Knox, the real leader of the expedition, with nine kindred spirits, pushed on deeper and deeper into the trackless wilder- ness, and near the present site of Greensburg, in Green 1 Filson's "Kentucke." 2-Collins, I, p. 17, II, pp. 367 and 417; Durrett's "Kentucky Centenary," p. 30. D< Be From a skftcli by John Trumbull, now in p'/ssession of Colunel Reuben T. Durrett. It is signed " J. T. 1776 " and is drawn upjn untanned deer skin, upon the reverse side nj which the hair still appears. VANGUARD OF THE WESTWARD MOVEMENT 27 County, built another trading station, from which as a center he carried his explorations as far as Barren, Hart and other neighboring counties. Knox and his com- panions remained two years in the Kentucky district, wondering, as Boone wondered, at the indescribable fertil- ity and beauty of the land, revelling in the game which was everywhere abundant, and treasuring up experiences which were to lose nothing in the telling, when they should return to the settlements beyond the mountains. To them, by common consent, has been given the name, "long hunters," and their stories, added to those related by Boone and his comrades, caused many a gallant woods- man to migrate to this land of promise, even at the risk of life and fortune. No serious attempt to plant a settlement in the dis- trict ^ was made, however, until 1773, when Daniel Boone, "having successfully disposed of his possessions in North Carolina, left his home in the Yadkin Valley and, accom- panied by his own and several other North Carolina families, started westward along the hunters' trail." They were joined, at points along the route, by some forty other bold pioneers, and thus reinforced, the second immi- grant party pushed on toward the wilderness. Their march was necessarily slow, as they were impeded by their cattle and pack horses; but at last they reached Cumberland Gap, and were preparing to cross the moun- tains, when a band of Indians suddenly attacked them from behind, and six of the company were killed. The 1 Dr. Thomas Walker had secured a large land grant about twenty miles west of Cumberland Gap, and Joseph Martin had established a settlement within it, at a point a few miles east of where Jellico now stands (1769), but the Indians had proved so hostile that the enterprise had soon been aban- doned. Winsor's "Western Movement," p. 21. 28 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY remainder rallied at once and routed the enemy; but such a disaster, at the beginning of their journey, so disheartened them that they returned to their homes, and the second attempt to settle the region failed upon the borderland.^ So great an effect did this disaster have upon the people of North Carolina that no new expedition was attempted during the year.^ With the spring of 1774, however, came a flood of ad- venturers intent upon securing land claims by means of "improvers' cabins," and without the dangers incident 1 Collins, II, p. 57. 2 The latter part of the year 1773, however, witnessed the arrival in the region of a large party of land surveyors, sent out by Lord Dunmore, Governor of Virginia, in the hope of aiding the process of settlement in the West, which he conceived to be the best means of protecting the Virginia settlements against Indian attacks. Bogart's "Daniel Boone," p. 99. Captain Thomas Bullett, the three McAfee brothers, James, George and Robert, and James Harrod and James Douglas were the leading spirits. Robert McAfee's "Journal," Durrett MSS., and James McAfee's "Journal," ibid., Collins, I, p. 248. After holding a council with the Shawnee Indians at Chillicothe, the party broke up. Bullett, with a few followers, passed down to the Falls of the Ohio, where he spent several weeks, and made the first survey of the site of Louisville (Collins, I, p. 17; and II, p. 94), and of the county which bears his name. Another party, under the McAfee brothers, ascended the Kentucky River to the site of Frankfort, of which they made the first survey. See Robert Mc- Afee's "History of Kentucky," and "The Life of Robert McAfee and His Family," Durrett MSS. The McAfee "Journals" have recently been pub- lished in Appendix of Neander M. Woods' volume, "The Woods-McAfee Memorial," Courier- Journal Job Printing Co., of Louisville, 1905. A third party under Douglas examined the region near the Big Bone Lick and selected a site for a settlement. The following Spring he returned to the selected region after a winter in Virginia, and made numerous surveys along the Kentucky River, but death overtook him, and he found a grave in the wilderness where he had planned to build a home. Marshall, I, p. 36. None of these men, however, built even "improvers' cabins," a term which, in pioneer days, meant merely nominal dwellings, consisting of small squares of logs built breast high, and not even roofed, which were used as a means of technically fulfilling the letter of the laws, requiring settlement as a basis of land claims. Collins, II, p. 517. VANGUARD OF THE WESTWARD MOVEMENT 29 to actual settlement.^ So great was their number that the Indians, becoming alarmed for the safety of their most cherished hunting ground, formed a grand coalition to protect themselves and banish the white invader. The chiefs who had been present at the Council of Fort Stan- wix were well aware that Sir William Johnson had there purchased from the Iroquois a full title to the Kentucky district;- but such a contract could mean little to savage warriors, and "the Indian nations not concerned in the grant," as Filson tells us, "became dissatisfied with the prospect of a settlement which might become so dangerous a thorn in their side." ^ Lord Dunmore, then Governor of Virginia, clearly fore- seeing war, decided to warn the white adventurers to retire to the settlements beyond the mountains, and se- lected Daniel Boone as the messenger. On the sixth of June, 1774, in company with "one Michael Stoner," Boone started for the Falls of the Ohio and, during the next sixty-two days, traversed eight hundred miles of wilderness, returning, on August the eighth, at the head of a band of land surveyors who had wisely abandoned their labors at his word of warning.^ Such adventurers as refused to return, soon had cause to repent their excess of boldness. Indian scouting parties appeared on every side. The fierce Shawnees, led by their great chief. Cornstalk, and supported by the Miamis, 1 Thomas Hanson's "Journal of 1774," Durrett MSS. 2 Winsor's "Narrative and Critical History of America," VI, p. 706; Winsor's "Westward Movement," p. 154, for details of this conference and the resulting treaty. Text of treaty of Fort Stanwix, Butler's "Kentucky," Ed. 1834, Ap- pendix. 3 Filson's " Kentucke." * Filson's "Kentucke," Butler, Ed. 1834, p. 26; Smith, p. 31; Collins, I, p. 17. 30 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY the Delawares, the Wyandots, and other northern tribes, swept toward the frontier settlements of Virginia, dealing out death by torture to all white men who fell into their hands. ^ They burst Hke a flood upon the little stockades guarding the Virginia settlements, while detached bands of warriors plundered the scattered farmhouses and massacred their inmates. Lord Dunmore's war ^ had begun in earnest, and Lord Dunmore promptly prepared to carry the fight into the enemy's country. Three thousand Virginia regulars and volunteers were mustered into service and formed into two armies. With one of these the Governor himself advanced to Fort Pitt, having directed General Andrew Lewis to march with the other to the mouth of the Great Kanawha.^ The two armies were to unite at a specified point on the Ohio River, and together attack the Shaw- nee villages scattered through the Scioto Valley. But Cornstalk, with a military sagacity uncommon among savage leaders, divined the plan, and decided to attack General Lewis's camp, which had been pitched at Point Pleasant,^ before Lord Dunmore should have time to arrive. 1 More white persons were killed during the period of nominal peace, just before the opening of Lord Dunmore's war, than during the campaign. Winsor's "Narrative and Critical History of America," VI, p. 709. 2 It was first known as "Cresap's War." See Winsor's "Narrative and Critical History of America," VI, pp. 707-711, for details of Cresap's connection with beginnings of the war, the killing of Logan's family, etc., as well as for examination of controversy between Virginia and Pennsylvania over the posses- sion of the land between the mountains and the Ohio River. 3 General Lewis's army consisted of eleven hundred men, chiefly pioneers, and veteran Indian fighters. Smith's "Kentucky," pp. 31 and 32. 4 Point Pleasant, at the junction of the Ohio and the Kanawha, was the rendezvous first appointed by Lord Dunmore, but, on Oct. 6, when he reached that point. General Lewis had not found Lord Dunmore as he had hoped. VANGUARD OF THE WESTWARD MOVEMENT 31 Warned of this intended attack, General Lewis at once took the initiative. He gave orders that Colonel Fleming's regiment, and that commanded by his brother, Colonel Charles Lewis, should reconnoiter, while he himself should arrange his troops for the battle. The reconnoitering party, marching at once, found itself face to face with the savages, approaching for a similar pur- pose (Oct. 10, 1774). Battle was instantly joined, the two armies being about equal in number, some eleven hundred each. At first things went badly for the English. The two colonels, Lewis and Fleming, fell mortally wounded, and their troops began a headlong retreat, which was checked only by the timely arrival of Colonel Field with a fresh regiment. The advantage gained from this reinforcement was, however, only temporary. Field was struck down and the savage allies, Cornstalk, Logan, Red Eagle, and other gallant chiefs of the coalition, pushed on to com- plete their victory. At this point General Lewis decided to try the dan- gerous expedient of a flank movement. He sent three captains, Isaac Shelby, George Mathews and John Stuart, with their companies, with orders to reach Crooked Creek, which runs into the Kanawha a little above Point Pleas- ant, and thence to attack the Indians in the rear. The movement was effected under cover of the river banks, Three days later he received a message from the Governor, stating that his plans had been changed, and ordering General Lewis to meet him in the Indian country north of the Ohio. This change of plan came to the ears of Cornstalk who resolved to attack General Lewis before he could cross the Ohio, and ac- complish the meeting planned by Lord Dunmore. It was while preparing to cross the Ohio that General Lewis received news of the approach of Cornstalk and his savage army. Hartley's "Boone," p. 86; Winsor's "Narrative and Critical History of America," VI, p. 713; Winsor's "Westward Movement," P- 73- 32 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY and the Indians, startled by the fierce attack from a quarter so unexpected, concluded that reinforcements had arrived and, fleeing across the Ohio, retired to their villages on the Scioto.^ Thus was defeat turned into victory in "the most hotly contested fight which the Indians ever made against the English . . . the first considerable battle which they had fought without the aid of the French." ^ Meanwhile Lord Dunmore with the main army had marched toward the Scioto, ravaging as he went. Cornstalk, upon reaching his own country, found that the news of his defeat, and the damage already done by Lord Dunmore's army had completely disheartened his braves, who were clamoring for peace. A deputation was accordingly sent to Lord Dunmore at Camp Charlotte, and a treaty was arranged in which the allies surrendered all claim to Kentucky, just as the Six Nations had already done at Fort Stanwix.^ The treaty guaranteed that no white man should henceforth be molested on the Ohio River, and that no Indian should pass to its southern bank. 1 Hartley, p. 89; Winsor's "Westward Movement," p. 73. 2 Winsor's "Westward Movement," p. 73. The details of the Point Pleasant Campaign of 1774 are given in great detail in the " Journal" of Colonel William Fleming, Durrett MSS. (Fleming). It contains some 42 closely written pages (Durrett's typewritten copy) and contains lists of the ofl&cers and a list of the slain. Also John Stuart's account of the Battle of Point Pleasant. Durrett MSS. 3 Only the claim of the Cherokees was now left to be met and that was shortly done at the Treaty of Wataga. CHAPTER II TRANSYLVANIA, THE LAST EXPERIMENT IN PROPRIETARY GOVERNMENT The victory of Point Pleasant rendered the navigation of the Ohio comparatively safe for the time being, and also greatly reduced the dangers incident to a visit to the Kentucky wilderness. The fame of the region had spread prodigiously during Lord Dunmore's war, as hunters and surveyers, fresh from the glories of this ad- venturers' paradise, had served in the army of Virginia during the war, and had enlivened the monotony of camp life, by tales of adventure well calculated to quicken the pulse, and fire the enthusiasm of their fellow-soldiers.^ Thus the "Western fever" which before had attacked only the most adventurous, spread like an epidemic, men en- couraging themselves with the hope that, since the sign- ing of the treaty, settlers would be able to raise their log cabins and plant their corn in peace. That this was the vainest of delusions, events presently showed, but it oper- ated powerfully to awaken a new interest in the great, mysterious West; so powerfully, indeed, that corporate en- terprise, regardless of the failures of the Loyal and the Ohio Companies of earlier days, began again to raise its head, and look toward the fair lands of the Ohio. Whether Daniel Boone had made his first great journey 1 "'When the soldiers came home they told us about Kentucky, a new dis- covered, wonderful country." "Autobiography and Diary of Daniel Trabue." Unpublished MS., Durrett Collection. Kentucky — 3 33 34 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY through Kentucky as the confidential agent of a great land corporation, later to announce itself as the Transyl- vania Company, no one can assert with authority; but it is certain that, not many months after the battle of Point Pleasant, he was acting as the trusted and secret agent of such a corporation.^ Colonel Richard Henderson, a native Virginian, who for some years had filled the position of Judge on the bench of the Superior Court of North Carolina, had seen in the rising West, a vision of a wider field for his really great talents. He formed a corporation, composed of himself and eight associates, with the ambitious purpose of pur- chasing from the Cherokees a vast domain in the Kentucky wilderness, upon which to establish a sort of proprietary colony.^ It was a scheme of large dimensions, and, under more favorable conditions, might have proved successful; but, in the America of that day, where long established proprietorships were tottering to their fall, it was fore- doomed to failure. After making a preliminary journey through the region, and preparing the leading chiefs for the final settlement, Henderson arranged a council of the " Big Chiefs" and war- riors of the Cherokee nation, at the Sycamore Shoals on the Wataga River.^ Some twelve hundred Indians were present and, with great formality, a pompous and lengthy deed was drawn and signed, conveying to Richard Hen- derson and his associates, to be enjoyed by them in a cor- porate capacity as "Proprietors of the Colony of Transyl- vania," a district composing about "one half of the modern 1 Winsor's "Westward Movement," p. 8i; Bogart's "Boone," p. ii8. 2 Brown's "Political Beginnings of Kentucky," p. 26. 3 Ibid., p. 25. TRANSYLVANIA 35 state of Kentucky and the adjacent part of Tennessee, lying within the southerly bend of the Cumberland." ^ This treaty was signed and concluded on March 17th, 1775, the payment of ten thousand pounds sterling, in goods, being made by the representatives of the Company. But the formal possession of such a grant was quite a different thing from its actual possession; for, even had the purchase not been illegal in a number of ways, - there still remained the task of providing for the settlement of this wilderness. As a first step toward this end, and while negotiations for the purchase were in progress, Hen- derson arranged for Boone to mark a road from the older settlements westward to the new possessions; and, as soon as the success of the purchase seemed assured, the task of opening the famous highway since known as "Boone's Wilderness Road" was begun. "Having collected," to quote the pioneer's own simple account of the achieve- ment, "a number of enterprising men, well armed, we pro- ceeded with all possible expedition until we came within fifteen miles of where Boonesborough now stands, and there we were fired upon by a party of Indians that killed 1 Winsor's "Westward Movement," p. 82; see also Marshall, I, p. 13; Butler, 1834 Ed., p. 27. 2 This purchase was illegal from a number of points of view. (a) It was contrary to the charter rights of the Virginia Colony whose grant included this territory. See Macdonald's "Select Charters," for Virginia Char- ters of 1606-1609. (6) It was a violation of the Royal Proclamation of 1763, which had excepted this region from territory open to colonization. (c) In case the treaty of Fort Stanwix (1768) were ultimately accepted as binding, as it subsequently was, the purchase was a violation of rights gained under it, as the Transylvania district lay within the grant there made to the King by the Six Nations. Text of Treaty, Butler's " Appendix." (d) It was contrary to a Virginia statute of 1705, which declared that no private citizen could acquire lands from the Indians. Cf. Durrett's "Kentucky Centenary," p. 38. 36 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY two, and wounded two of our number, yet, although sur- prised and taken at a disadvantage, we stood our ground. This was the twentieth of March, 1775. Three days after, we were fired upon again, and two men killed and three wounded. Afterward we proceeded on to Kentucky River without opposition, and on the fifth day of April began to erect the fort of Boonesborough at a salt-lick, about sixty yards from the river, on the South side." ^ Thus while Henderson was closing the bargain with the Cherokee nation, Boone, with his gallant band of thirty ^ men, was starting upon the second stage of the undertaking, that of preparing to force a settlement of the lands, that they might quickly rise in value and pro- vide returns upon the vested capital. In the "trace" which he was laboriously making, would soon follow the pack horses and covered wagons which even to-day mark the advance of civilization along our western fron- tier, for "in all history the road has been the forerunner of civilization." ^ Colonel Henderson, however, had no intention of acting as a mere financial promoter of the enterprise of settling the wilderness. Boone and his company had been sent ahead to open up the way, in order that Henderson might follow, after assuring himself that every precaution had been taken to secure as clear a title as the Cherokees were able to give. His eagerness to take part in the dangers of the wilderness, and in the toils of the first planting, was 1 Boone's "Autobiography" as dictated to John Filson. Cf. Hartley's " Boone," Appendix. 2 Felix Walker, one of Boone's road-making party, made an autobiograph- ical statement in 1824, in which he declared, "Our company, when united, amounted to thirty persons." 3 Hulbert's "Boone's Wilderness Road," p. 94. TRANSYLVANIA 37 manifested by the fact that, on March 20, 1775, only three days after the signing of the treaty of Wataga, and, as it chanced, the very day of Boone's first encounter with the Indians, he left Wataga with some thirty men, and followed the Wilderness Road toward his new dominion, intending to set up a land office in the fort which Boone had been ordered to build. Henderson felt the dignity of his mission in no small degree, and his diary ^ of the trip shows that he considered no incident of that historic jour- ney to be without interest. "Having finished my Treaty with the Indians at Wataugah," it begins, "Sett out for Louisa and arrived at John Shelbeys in the evening — Tuesday the 21st, went to Mr. John Seviers in Company of Col Williams and Col Hart and staid that day — Wednesday the 22nd — Messrs Williams and Hart set off Home & I staid with Mr. Sevier — Thursday 23rd, Still at Mr. Seviers — N. B. Because our Horses were lost . . . as Messrs Hart and Luttrell made a poor Hand of Trav- eling." ^ And thus the diary continues, recounting, day by day, the petty annoyances of frontier camp life. It informs us that Henderson found it necessary to make a house to secure the wagons which could be dragged no farther; and that "Sam'l Henderson's and John Farrier's Horses took a Scare with their packs. Run away with Sams' Saddle &: Briddle," etc., etc. The entry of Friday, the 7th of * The " Diary " is reprinted in part in Hulbert's " Boone's Wilderness Road," pp. 101-107. There, however, it runs only up to Thursday the 20th, while the copy given in Collins, II, p. 49S, condenses the part dealing with the trip and adds a much more detailed account of the period from April 20th to July 12th, a period of great interest in the history of the Transylvania Colony. 2 Hart, Luttrell and Williams were all members of the Corporation of Tran- sylvania. 38 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY April, however, is more important; "About 11 o'clock re- ceived a letter from Mr. Littereal's camp that were five persons kill'd on the road to the Cantuckee by Indians. Capt. Hart uppon the receipt of this News Retreated back with his Company and determin'd to Settle in the Valley to make corn for the Cantuckey People. The Same Day, Received a letter from Dan Boone that his Com- pany was fired uppon by Indians, Kill'd Two of his men — tho he kept the ground and saved the Baggage &c." The letter from Boone here referred to is addressed, "Col. Richard Henderson — these with care," and reads thus:^ "Dear Colonel: After my compliments to you, I shall acquaint you of our misfortune. On March the 25th a party of Indians fired on my Company about half an hour before day, and killed Mr. Tevetty and his negro, and wounded Mr. Walker very deeply, but I hope he will recover. "On March 28th, as we were hunting for provisions, we found Samuel Tate's son, who gave us an account that the Indians fired on their camp on the 27 day. My brother and I went down and found two men killed and scalped, Thomas McDowell and Jeremiah McPheeters. I have sent a man down to all the lower companies in order to gather them all to the mouth of the Otter Creek. My advice to you, Sir, is to come or send as soon as possi- ble, your company is desired greatly, for the people are very uneasy, but are willing to stay and venture their 1 Boone to Henderson, April i, 1775. This letter appears in full in Collins, Vol. II, p. 498; Bogart's "Boone," p. 120, also copies it, giving the same date; but Hartley's "Boone," p. 98, presents it under the date April 15, 1775, evi- dently an error. TRANSYLVANIA 39 lives with you; and now is the time to frustrate the inten- tions of the Indians, and keep the country, whilst we are in it. If we give way to them now, it will ever be the case. This day we start from the battleground, for the mouth of Otter Creek, where we shall immediately erect a fort, which will be done before you can come or send — then we can send ten men to meet you if you send for them. " I am, Sir, your most obedient Daniel Boone." "N. B. We stood on the ground and guarded our baggage till day, and lost nothing. We have about fifteen miles to Cantuck (Kentucky River) at Otter Creek." The news contained in this letter spread through the district with astonishing rapidity, revealing to many an adventurer the unwelcome fact that the victory at Point Pleasant had not completely settled the Indian question. In his entry of April 8th, Henderson says: "Met about 40 persons Returning from the Cantuckey, on Acct. of the Late Murder by Indians. Could prevail on only one to return. Several Virginians who were with us turned back from here." After dispatching Captain Wm. Cocke, to inform Boone of their approach, Henderson and his Company followed as rapidly as the difficulties of the way permitted, but the next day they met another band of fugitives, nineteen in number, who were making all haste to get out of the "land of promise." A few of these yielded to Henderson's persuasion, and joined in the march toward Boonesbor- ough, where they all arrived in safety, on the twentieth of April, 1775, the very day upon which began the proc- ess of penning up General Gage in the rebellious town of Boston. "We were saluted," the colonel adds, with evi- 40 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY dent satisfaction, " by a running fire of about 25 guns, all that were then at the fort — Men appeared in high spirits and much rejoiced at our arrival." Thus did the last of America's Lords Proprietors enter his domain, a little stockade containing a few rough log cabins and surrounded by a virgin wilderness of some twenty million acres. Presumably this was a good place to try again the ancient experiment of a Lord Proprietor- ship, but we can now see that, even under the most ideal conditions, no such system of government could have lasted long in the America of 1775. The winds of politi- cal doctrine had long been blowing in a direction quite contrary to such an arrangement, as the heirs of the Penns and the Calverts had already come to understand. And, in the case of the Transylvania Colony, conditions were by no means ideal. In the first place the presence of some two hundred and thirty men, with claims established at various points in Kentucky, before the organization of the Transylvania movement, and resting upon the au- thority of Virginia, whose laws had been openly violated by the purchase of Wataga, augured ill for the peace of the Lords Proprietors. These claims were for the most part located in the vi- jcinity of three so-called settlements, Harrodsburg, Boiling Spring, and St. Asaph, and to the first of these must be ascribed the honor of being the first permanent settlement in Kentucky. As early as June 16, 1774, it had been laid out by Captain James Harrod and some thirty compan- ions,^ each man being assigned a town lot of one-half acre 1 Names, Collins, II, p. 517. One of these companions of Harrod was James Harlan, father of Hon. James Harlan, one of the authors of Kentucky's Civil and Criminal Code. He was also the grandfather of Mr. Justice Harlan of the TRANSYLVANIA 4 1 and an "out lot" of ten acres. They had been In the midst of the interesting process of making these assign- ments, when Daniel Boone and Michael Stoner arrived with Governor Dunmore's warning that the Northern In- dians were about to take the war path, and, in spite of the urgency of his mission, Boone had taken time to as- sist the settlers in this task, in return for which he had been assigned a lot with the rest. After the peace, Har- rod and his Company were among the first to recross the mountains, and, by March 15, 1775, they had reoc- cupied their village, which has never since that day been completely abandoned.^ Thus, so far as Harrodsburg was concerned, it was hardly to be expected that the overlordship of the Transyl- vania Company would be permanently accepted without question, even though Henderson was wise enough not to attempt to interfere with land titles which had been already completed. The other two claim centers. Boiling Spring and St. Asaph (sometimes called Logan's Fort) had not as yet risen to the dignity of fortified stations, and indeed were not in any sense settlements, when Henderson arrived at Boonesborough; but they did represent claims, and claims entered and surveyed without the consent or knowledge of the Transylvania Company. Such claims as these — which had been registered and fully paid up, according to the conditions laid down by Virginia law — United States Supreme Court. Another was Major Silas Harlan in whose honor Harlan County was afterwards named. 1 Collins, II, p. 517. Here also are summarized the proofs that Harrodsburg, and not Boonesborough, was the first settlement in Kentucky. The name was first written Harrodstown, then, for a time, it was called Oldtown, and finally it received the name Harrodsburg, which it still retains. See Collins, II, p. 605. 42 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY were of course safe, but there were others where these conditions had not been fully met, and to these the pre- tensions of the Transylvania Company might mean serious complications. There can be little doubt that the Company was from the first in very unpleasant uncertainty as to what would be the attitude of these claim-holders toward its preten- sions, and that uncertainty was greatly increased by the news, which shortly reached Boonesborough, that Lord Dunmore, Governor of Virginia, had, on March 21, 1775, issued a proclamation denouncing, in unmeasured terms, "One Richard Henderson and other disorderly persons, his associates, who, under pretense of a purchase from the Indians, contrary to aforesaid orders and regulations of His Majesty, has set up a claim to lands of the crown within the limits of the colony." The proclamation strictly enjoined "All Justices of the Peace, Sheriffs and other officers, civil and m.ilitary, to use their utmost en- deavors to prevent the unwarrantable and illegal designs of the said Henderson and his abettors.^ " The effect of this Proclamation was, of course, to array Virginia against the Transylvania Company,^ and ulti- mately to shatter the faith of such as might otherwise have been disposed to take Henderson and his Company at their own valuation.^ Of these latter there were few, for the Kentucky pioneer embodied, to a remarkable de- 1 Copy of Lord Dunmore's Proclamation in Durrett MSS. Lord Dunmore, in the Proclamation, does not complain that the Transylvania Company has violated the law of Virginia which forbade the purchasing, by private citizens, of land from the Indians, but bases his proclamation upon the King's purpose to have all these lands surveyed in strips and sold at auction. 2 Durrett's "Centenary of Kentucky," p. 38. 3 Governor Martin of North Carolina also promptly denounced the Wataga purchase as illegal. See Ramsey's "History of Tennessee," p. 126. TRANSYLVANIA 43 gree, the spirit of personal liberty. Accustomed as he had been for two years past, to take up land and abandon it at his pleasure, to survey where and when he chose, to carve a name on a tree as the record of ownership, to plant his corn and go his way, returning in his own good time to harvest his crop, he was not disposed to bow in quiet resignation to the over-lordship of Henderson and his Company.^ Discouraging as these facts were, they did not for a moment check Henderson's operations. He proceeded to inspect the fort which Boone had erected, and found that it was too small to accommodate the new party as well as the old. He also found that Boone had put into opera- tion arrangements similar to those which he had helped Harrod and his company to complete at Harrodsburg, the previous summer. He had laid out most of the good land adjacent to the fort, into two-acre lots, and had as- signed them to his company. No room was left for Colo- nel Henderson and his men, who, therefore, decided to erect a fort on the opposite side of a large lick, near the river bank, some three hundred yards distant. Accord- ingly, having marked off fifty-four lots about this new site, Henderson gave notice that they would be assigned, at a drawing to be held the evening of April the twenty-second. At this point arose the first serious dispute over land claims. Robert and Samuel McAfee, whom Henderson had met escaping from the district only a few days before, and had persuaded to return with him, refused to draw, stating that they preferred to return to their claims, some fifty miles down the Kentucky River. "I informed them myself, in the hearing of all attending," says Hender- 1 Collins, II, p. 509. 44 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY son,^ "that such settlement should not entitle them to lands from us." Here then is the first explicit statement of the Transylvania Company with reference to land grants, Henderson plainly announcing that the days of squatter ownership within the region, covered by the Wataga purchase, were at an end. A few days later. Captain John Floyd, leader of a Company of thirty Virginia settlers, who had a camp on Dick's River, came to Henderson to learn upon what terms he and his followers might secure land from the Transylvania Company. Henderson, knowing that Floyd was deputy surveyor of Fincastle County (a rival juris- diction), not unnaturally suspected him of being a spy sent to gather damaging evidence against the Company, and so the gallant Floyd, " as frank and honest a gentle- man as ever donned the hunting shirt," got very little in- formation in reply to his questions.^ While Captain Floyd was still at Boonesborough, wait- ing for a definite answer to his questions, there appeared in the station two other noted pioneers. Colonel Thomas Slaughter and Captain James Harrod,^ intent upon simi- lar business. On May 8th, Henderson records in his "Journal": "Was very much embarrassed by a dis- pute between the above. The last mentioned gentleman [Colonel Harrod], with about forty men, settled on Salt River last year (1774), was driven off [by the Indians] 1 Henderson's " Journal," April 21. 2 Floyd later became surveyor-in-chief of the Transylvania Colony. Floyd's visit is described in Henderson's "Journal," May 3, 1775. Cf. also Durrett's " Centenary of Kentucky," p. 40. 3 These pioneers from the other stations doubtless came in response to Boone's invitation, for in his letter to Henderson, dated April i, 1775, Boone says, "I have sent men down to all the lower companies in order to gather them all to the mouth of the Otter Creek." Collins, II, p. 498. TRANSYLVANIA 45 joined the army ^ with thirty of his men, and being de- termined to Hve in this country, has come down this Spring, accompanied by about fifty men. — They had come on Harrod's invitation, and had got possession some time before we got here. "We were afraid," he adds, with the frankness of an honest man communing with his own soul, "we were afraid to determine in favor of the right ^ side; and, not being capable, if we could have wished it, to give a decree against them, our embarrassment was exceedingly great." To divert the debate and draw them a little off so disa- greeable a subject, Henderson proposed the assembling at Boonesborough, of delegates from all the stations, to draw up a plan of legislation; and, this suggestion having been agreed to, he issued instructions for the election of such delegates. This first legislative gathering of the district was called to order (May 23, 1775) by Colonel Henderson, who wel- comed its members with a short speech, prepared with all the formality and bombast of a Senatorial utterance. He pointed out the need of law in a civilized community, and laid great emphasis upon the dignity of the occasion. "You, perhaps, are fixing a palladium, or placing the corner stone of an edifice, the height Snd magnificence of whose superstructure is now in the womb of futurity and can only become great and glorious, in proportion to the excellence of its foundation." In urging the prompt establishment of courts of law, 1 The army of Colonel Lewis which won the battle of Point Pleasant, Oc- tober 10, 1774. 2 Here I quote from the MSS. of Henderson's "Journal," preserved in the Durrett collection. It differs greatly at this point from the copies which will be found in Collins, II, p. 500, and in Smith, p. 46. 46 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY Henderson declares that if such things are not promptly attended to, " our name will become odious abroad, and our peace of short and precarious duration." Then, re- calling Lord Dunmore's Proclamation, he adds, " It would give honest and disinterested persons cause to suspect, that there are some colorable reasons, at least, for the unworthy, scandalous assertions, together with the groundless in- sinuations contained in an infamous and scurrilous libel lately published concerning the settlement of this country, the author of which avails himself of his station, and un- der the specious pretense of proclamation pompously dressed up and decorated in the garb of authority, has uttered invectives of the most malignant kind, and en- deavors to wound the good name of persons whose moral character would derive little advantage by being placed in competition with his." ^ After sadly misquoting the Proclamation and making it appear far more abusive than it really was, Hender- son closed his address with a request for the passage of suitable laws, to prevent the "wanton destruction of our game." It was in all respects the speech of a man who felt immoderately the dignity of his position, and wished to have others feel it likewise. He and his associates had " contemplated the establishment of a proprietary govern- ment as nearly as possible on the model of those existing by royal grant," ^ and, although unforeseen conditions had forced Henderson to give it rather the aspect of a democ- racy, he still clung tenaciously to the pomp of proprietor- ship. 1 "Minutes of the Meeting," Durrett MSS. 2 Brown's "Political Beginnings of Kentucky," p. 29. TRANSYLVANIA 47 Two days after the delivery of this address, a committee "waited on the Proprietors with a very humble reply, which they asked leave to read." ^ Permission was gra- ciously granted, and, after the reading, the assembly at once proceeded to the task of legislating for the Colony. There was no legislation concerning the franchise, nor for regulating the conditions for securing land grants in the Colony, the latter being the very question which had caused the summoning of the Assembly. Upon one oc- casion the assembly ventured to send Todd and Harrod to ask the Proprietors, "what name for this colony would be agreeable." They promptly reported, "That it was their pleasure that it should be called Transylvania," — rather a royal sounding reply for a democratic govern- ment, but it settled the question. Next the Assembly sent Harrod, Boone, and Cocke to "wait on the Proprietors, and beg that they will not in- dulge any person whatever in granting them lands . . . unless they comply with the former proposals of settling the country," etc. This was an evident attempt to forestall any system of absentee landlords, and was therefore quite suggestive of popular distrust of the Company. The " Journal " gives us no definite record of any reply from Colonel Henderson, but it prints a "message received from the Proprietors," and signed by Henderson, which is itself as explicit an answer as could be framed, without making the least ref- erence to the petition. "To give every possible satisfac- tion to the good people, your constituents, we desire to ex- * The text of the minutes of all these proceedings is preserved in MSS. in the Durrett collection. It is believed to be the original " MS. Journal of the Convention." 48 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY hibit our title deed from the Aborigines and first owners of the soil of Transylvania, and hope you will cause an entry to be made of the exhibition in your journal." This was equivalent to telling the Assembly that those in whom was vested the proprietorship of the Colony would make such arrangements as they chose, respecting the granting of land titles, though in form it was an invitation to the representatives of the people to assure themselves that the Transylvania Company was the real owner of the territory. To this proposition the Assembly at once assented, and "Colonel Henderson personally attended the Convention, with John Farrow, Attorney in fact for the head warriors or chiefs of the Cherokee Indians," and exposed to view the Wataga deed of the 17th of March, 1775. The As- sembly, having inspected this formal and somewhat ver- bose document, signed by the three great chiefs, Oconistoto (The King), AttacuUacullah (Little Carpenter), and Savo- nooko (Raven Warrior), turned their attention to the preparation of a formal compact to be entered into by the proprietors and the people. This compact, signed and sealed on the 27th of May, 1775, guarantees the annual election of delegates, religious freedom, independence of the Judiciary, and other similar provisions for a free gov- ernment. As the delegates returned to their respective stations, discussing what had been done during the session, and as they described to "their constituents," as Henderson had grandly termed them, the lofty and patronizing manner in which that gentleman had borne himself, the pioneers began to take alarm, and some who had, up to this time, been in sympathy with the Proprietors, showed signs of dawning hostility. Men who had come out into the wil- TRANSYLVANIA 49 derness and, amid untold hardships and dangers, had se- lected estates for themselves, saw that, if Henderson and his company should carry out their program, the colony would be, not under a free government where all men are equal, but under a proprietary government, designed fot the benefit of the few. This discontent soon began to show itself in the drift of population. When Colonel Henderson had first reached Boonesborough (April 20, 1775), he had found that, his own companions included, the garrison consisted of about sixty-five guns. Before many weeks had elapsed that number had been increased to eighty, but by the middle of June, under the influence of the prevalent discontent, the number had dwindled down to fifty, and was steadily declining. That Virginia was hostile to their plans, Lord Dun- more's Proclamation had left no room for doubt; and that North Carolina was unfriendly. Governor Martin's de- nunciations of the Wataga treaty had made as evident. Moreover, the colonists themselves, at first unresisting,^ were every day becoming more savage in their denuncia- tions; and of the new settlers who were pouring into the region, the strongest and best avoided Boonesborough. A few men were still disposed to acknowledge unquestion- ingly the authority of the Company, and paid their charges without a murmur, happy in the thought that their titles were thus secured; but many relied wholly upon the titles of Virginia, without respect to the claims of the Proprietors, whom they denounced as impostors. 1 Butler, 1834 Ed., p. 30, gives the impression that the Transylvania Com- pany was for some time very popular with the settlers. This is evidently an error. Cf. Collins, II, p. 512. Large entries of land were undoubtedly made in their land office, but chiefly by newcomers. Kentucky — 4 50 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY Thus affairs became more and more complicated for the Company, until at last the Proprietors felt compelled to formulate definite measures concerning land claims, and such a policy was accordingly outlined. It provided first that there should be an agent and general manager of the business interests of, the Company, residing in the Colony and receiving a stated salary, payable out of the profits from the sale of lands. This important position v^as assigned, not to Colonel Henderson, but to another of the Proprietors, Colonel John Williams. Williams was bound down by explicit instructions. He was forbidden to "grant any lands adjoining Salt Springs, gold, silver, copper, lead or sulphur mines, know- ing them to be such." ^ In drawing deeds he was in- structed to reserve "one half of all gold, silver, copper, lead and sulphur," to the Proprietors, thus securing them against loss in case of accidental violation of the first, not very generous, regulation. Grants along navigable rivers should always have twice as much depth as river front- age; not in itself an unfair provision, but one which the settlers, accustomed to choose their lands as they pleased, were certain to resent, even as they resented any real re- strictions upon their freedom of choice. The price of lands was also definitely fixed,^ in a schedule which was to run until June i, 1776. 1 "Minutes of Oxford Meeting of the Proprietors of Transylvania," Sep- tember 25, 1775, Durrett MSS. 2 Among the Durrett MSS. is a statement of the terms upon which the lands of the Transylvania Colony can be obtained. It is dated Williamsburg, Virginia, September 30, 1775, and is evidently one of the advertising announcements sent out by this meeting at Oxford. Collins, II, p. 512, gives a list of the prices. It was also voted "that a present of 2,000 acres of land be made to Colonel Daniel Boone with the thanks of the Proprietors, for the signal service he had rendered to the Company." TRANSYLVANIA 51 Thus the Proprietors made definite and formal the very conditions, the mere suspicion of which had already driven men like Harrod and Slaughter into open hostility, and it should not, therefore, have surprised them that, a few months later, their agent complained of "a conspiracy not to hold lands on any other terms than those of the first year. Having thus disposed of the difficult question of land grants, the meeting proceeded to consider the more seri- ous subject of the hostility of Virginia and North Car- olina. Henderson and his fellow Proprietors were too intelligent and too experienced in affairs to dream of successfully floating so vast an enterprise against such opposition, unless they could secure the recognition and support of a still higher power, namely, the Continental Congress, then sitting at Philadelphia. They, therefore, determined to make an effort to secure that support, and prepared a formal memorial, requesting "that Transyl- vania be added to the number of the United Colonies," adding, as a bit of " patriotic fireworks," which it was hoped would touch that great Revolutionary Assembly, that "having their hearts warmed with the same noble spirit that animates the Colonies, and moved with indig- nation at the late ministerial and parliamentary usurpa- tions, it is the earnest wish of the Proprietors of Transyl- vania to be considered by the Colonies as brothers, engaged in the same great cause of liberty and mankind." ^ James Hogg, one of the Proprietors, was appointed to carry this appeal to the Continental Congress, and to ask 1 Brown's "Political Beginnings of Kentucky," p. 32, quotes a part of the petition, and Collins, II, p. 512, a still smaller part. The petition itself is pre- served in full in the Durrett MSS. 52 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY to be seated as the delegate from Transylvania. Hogg took up his journey at once, and on October 22, 1775, entered the portals of Independence Hall, where sat the fathers of the Republic. About six weeks later he sent Colo- nel Henderson an account of his interviews ^ with those fathers. He reports conversations with Samuel and John Adams, who, he said, seemed pleased with the idea, but objected that "taking under our protection a body of people who have acted in defiance of the King's Proc- lamation will be looked on as a confirmation of that in- dependent spirit with which we are daily reproached."^ Hogg answered this objection by exhibiting the memorial which gave strong expression of loyalty to the King. "They were pleased with our memorial," he says, "and thought it very proper." But looking over the map, they discovered that Transylvania comprised a part of the original Virginia chartered grant. They then advised Mr. Hogg to consult the Virginia delegation on the sub- ject, as they were unwilling to take any steps in the matter without the latter's consent. So Hogg approached Jefferson and Wythe, and ex- plained to them the nature of his mission. These also examined the map and "observed that our purchase was within their charter, and gently hinted that by virtue of it they might claim the whole." Jefferson added, how- ever, that his advice to Virginia would be to make no use of her charter rights in this case, except to prevent any 1 "Hogg to Henderson," December 2, 1775. Durrett MSS. The above account of Hogg's experiences in Philadelphia is based almost wholly upon this letter, which has never before been made public. 2 Here Samuel Adams was evidently "playing to the gallery" as he had, as long ago as 1768, decided that the independence of the American Colonies was the only course open to them. TRANSYLVANIA 53 arbitrary or oppressive government from being estab- lished veithin her chartered boundaries. "But he would not consent that v^e should be acknowledged by the Con- gress, until it had the approbation of their Constituents in Convention, which he thought might be obtained." "I was," he writes, "several times with Mr. Dean of Connecticut. He says he will send some people to see our country; and if their report be favorable, he thinks many Connecticut people will join us. This gentleman is a scholar and a man of sense and enterprise, and rich, and I am apt to believe has some thoughts of heading a party of Connecticut adventurers, providing things can be made agreeable to him. He is recognized a good man, and much esteemed in Congress; but he is an enthusiast on liberty and will have nothing to do with us unless he is pleased with our form of Government. He is a great ad- mirer of the Connecticut Constitution, and was so good as to favor me with a long letter on that subject, a copy of which is enclosed.^ You would be amazed to see how much in earnest all these speculative gentlemen are about the plan to be adopted by the Transylvanians. They entreat, they pray that we may make it a free Government, and beg that no mercenary or ambitious views in the Pro- prietors may prevent it. Quit rents, they say, is a mark of vassalage, and hope they shall not be established in Transylvania. They even threaten us with their opposi- tion, if we do not act on liberal principles when we have it so much in our power to render ourselves immortal. Many of them advised a law against negroes." At this point Hogg's letter comes to an end, leaving the result of his mission still in doubt, but, from the deposi- 1 This letter has not been discovered. 54 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY tion of Patrick Henry, taken several years later,^ we are able to see why, after such encouragement, it proved a complete failure. The Continental Congress rejected the memorial from the Transylvania Company because Patrick Henry employed his great talents to prevent its recognition. Hogg apparently tried what we sometimes call " the modern method " of securing his end. He went to Patrick Henry and offered to make over to him certain stock in the Transylvania Company. "The deponent further says," so runs Henry's deposition, "that William Henderson and his partners,^ very soon after their sup- posed purchase joined in a letter to this deponent,^ in which was contained, as this deponent thinks, a distant though plain hint that he, the deponent, might be a part- ner with them." Henry also states that numerous other messages to the same effect were received "from Messrs. Henderson & Co." all of which he refused, with the " strongest disapprobation of their whole proceedings, giv- ing as a reason that the People of Virginia had a right to the back country derived from their Charter and the Blood and Treasure they expended on that account." The Transylvania Company had overshot the mark in seeking thus to conciliate the hero of the Parson's Cause. In the meantime, their new land regulations were rapidly preparing the last chapter of the Company's history in the Colony, and soon the discontented came forward to test their strength in open conflict with the hated corpora- 1 Deposition of Patrick Henry, June 4, 1777, "Calendar of Virginia State Papers," p. 289. Reproduced in Collins, II, p. 496. 2 William Henderson for Richard Henderson. 3 Doubtless a letter with which Hogg had been supplied before leaving his colleagues at Oxford. TRANSYLVANIA 55 tion. A petition addressed, "To the Honorable the Con- vention of Virginia," ^ was drawn up and signed by eighty- four settlers who had entered land in the ofHce of Colonel Williams, and had become convinced of the insecurity of the titles granted by that office. This document states that the petitioners had been lured by a specious show of easy terms to take up land and settle within the region claimed by the Transylvania Company, under the faith that they were receiving "an indefeasible title; " that the Company had advanced "the price of the purchase money," and had "increased the fees to entry and survey- ing to a most exorbitant rate," making it evident that they intended "rising in their demands as the settlers in- crease, or their insatiable avarice shall dictate." It further declares that the petitioners have lately learned, from a copy of the treaty of Fort Stanwix, that the purchase of Henderson & Company falls within the territory covered by that treaty, and is therefore of doubtful validity; that, moreover, as there is the greatest reason to presume that his Majesty will sooner or later vindicate his title secured by that treaty, the petitioners are in imminent danger of being " turned out of possession, or obliged to purchase their lands and improvements on such terms as the new grantee or proprietor (with a new deed from the King) might think fit to impose." For these reasons the peti- tioners implore, "to be taken under the protection of the honorable Convention of the Colony of Virginia, of which we cannot help thinking ourselves still a part, and request your kind intervention in our behalf, that we may not suffer under the rigorous demands and impositions of the gentlemen styling themselves Proprietors, who, the better 1 "Petition and Signers," Durrett MSS. Reprint, Collins, II, pp. 510-511. 56 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY to effect their oppressive designs, have given them the color of a law, enacted by a score of men, artfully picked from the few adventurers who went to see the country last sum- mer, over-awed by the presence of Mr. Henderson." This document did not reach the Virginia Convention until the month of March, 1776, and before any definite action had been taken concerning it, a new and startling phase of the question arose. News of war between Eng- land and her American Colonies reached the Indian tribes of the Northwest, who, under the encouragements offered them by British agents, began again the bar- barous warfare which had been so disastrous before the great victory of Point Pleasant. The danger from this source rendered it imperative that active measures of de- fence be at once taken. Before that could well be done, however, it was necessary that the question of jurisdiction be definitely determined. If the claim of the Transylvania Company was to stand, it seemed likely that the settlers would have to look out for their own safety; but if Vir- ginia should decide to yield to the appeal which had been made to her, and "take them under the protection of the honorable Convention of the Colony," they might fairly expect military aid from her, especially in view of the enormous importance of this frontier country to the se- curity of Virginia herself. It was at this critical moment that George Rogers Clark, the future conqueror of the Northwest territory, took up his permanent abode among the Kentucky pioneers. Clark had visited Kentucky, on a brief tour of inspection, during the previous autumn (Sept., 1775), and had been placed in command of the irregular militia of the settle- ments. He had returned to Virginia, filled with the im- TRANSYLVANIA 57 portance of establishing in Kentucky an extensive system of public defence, and with the firm conviction that the claims of Henderson & Company ought to be disallov^ed by Virginia. His return to Kentucky, in 1776, marks the beginning of the end of the Transylvania Company. In spite of his youth (he w^as only twenty-four) he was far the most dangerous opponent that Henderson & Com- pany had in the province. A military leader by nature, he had served in Lord Dunmore's war with such con- spicuous success that he had been offered a commission in the British Army. This honor he had declined, preferring to remain free to serve his country in the event of a revolt from British tyranny.^ Shortly after his arrival, Clark proposed that, in order to bring about a more certain connection with Virginia, and the more definitely to repudiate the authority of the Transylvania Company, a regular representative assem- bly should be held at Harrodsburg. His own views he expressed freely in advancing this suggestion. Agents, he said, should be appointed to urge once more the right of the region to be taken under the protection of Virginia, and, if this request should be again unheeded, we should "em- 1 Daniel Trabue tells us that, after the troops had returned from Lord Dun- more's war, "there was nothing else talked about scarcely but war. Our church parsons and merchants were mostly Scotchmen and English (this refers of course to Virginia not Kentucky); I recollect I heard one parson, to wit, Arch- ibald McRobert (the name in the MS. is crossed out with ink but is still legible) tell my father that the people was deluded by some other preachers, they was not only wrong but fools, he further stated there was as many men in the city of London as we had in North America. There was meetings called to consult about the war there was fast days appointed. Then it was that most of the men had hunting shirts and had liberty marked on their hunting shirts and bunch tails in their head, and the majority of the people said we will fight for our liberty." Daniel Trabue's "Autobiography and Diary." Unpublished MS., Durrett collection. 58 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY ploy the lands of the country as a fund to obtain settlers and establish an independent state." ^ The proposed assembly convened at Harrodsburg on the 6th of June. Clark was not present when the session began, and when he arrived, he found that the pressing question of the day had already been acted upon, and that he himself, with Gabriel John Jones, had been elected a delegate to represent the settlements in the Virginia As- sembly. Clark knew that such an election would not entitle them to seats, but he agreed to visit Williamsburg, and present the cause of his fellow pioneers. Provided with a formal memorial to the Virginia Assembly,^ he started, with Jones, for Virginia and, after a very painful journey, upon which, Clark declared, I suffered "more torment than I ever experienced before or since," they reached the neighborhood of Charlottesville, only to learn that the Assembly had adjourned. Jones set off for a visit to the settlements on the Holston; but Clark, intent upon his mission, pushed on to Hanover County, where he se- cured an interview with Patrick Henry, then Governor of Virginia. After listening to Clark's report of the troubles of the frontier colony, and doubtless enjoying his denuncia- tions of the Transylvania Company, Governor Henry in- troduced him to the executive Council of the State, and he at once requested from them five hundred pounds of powder for frontier defences. He had determined to accomplish the object of his mission in any manner pos- sible, and he knew that if he could induce the authorities 1 Collins, II, p. 134. 2 This memorial was in the possession of the late Hon. John Mason Brown; see Brown's "Political Beginnings of Kentucky," p. 38. TRANSYLVANIA 59 of Virginia to provide for the defence of the frontier set- tlements, the announcement of her property rights in them would certainly follow, to the destruction of the plans of Henderson and his colleagues. The Council, however, doubtless also foreseeing these consequences, declared that its powers could not be so construed as to give it authority to grant such a request. But Clark was insistent, and urged his case so effectively that, after considerable discussion, the Council announced that, as the call appeared urgent, they would assume the responsibility of lending five hundred pounds of powder to Clark, making him personally responsible for its value, in case their assumption of authority should not be upheld by the Burgesses. They then presented him with an order to the keeper of the public magazine calling for the powder desired. This was exactly what Clark did not want, as the loan of five hundred pounds of powder to George Rogers Clark, could in no sense be interpreted as an assumption by Virginia, of the responsibility of defending the western frontier, and his next act was most characteristic of the man. He returned the order with a curt note, declaring his intention of repairing at once to Kentucky, and exert- ing the resources of the country to the formation of an independent State, for, he frankly declared, "a country which is not worth defending is not worth claiming."^ This threat proved instantly successful. The Council recalled Clark to their presence and, on August 23, 1776, delivered him another order calling for five hundred pounds of gunpowder, which was to be conveyed to Pitts- burg by Virginia officials, there " to be safely kept and 1 This letter is reproduced in English's "Life of George Rogers Clark." 6o KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY delivered to George Rogers Clark or his order, for the use of the said inhabitants of Kentucky," With this concession Clark was completely satisfied, for he felt that by it Virginia was admitting her obligation to defend the pioneers of the West, and that an open decla- ration of sovereign rights over the territory must soon follow. He accordingly wrote to his friends in Kentucky, requesting them to receive the powder at Pittsburg, and convey it to the Kentucky stations, while he himself awaited the opening of the autumn session of the Virginia Assembly, where he hoped to procure a more explicit verdict against the claims of Henderson's Company. At the time appointed for the meeting, Clark, accompa- nied by his colleague, Gabriel John Jones, proceeded to Williamsburg and presented his petition to the Assembly,^ where again his remarkable personality secured a victory. In spite of the vigorous exertions of Henderson and Camp- bell in behalf of the Transylvania Company, the Virginia Assembly (December 7, 1776) ^ passed an act dividing the vast, ill-defined region, hitherto known as Fincastle County, into three sections, to be known as Kentucky County, Washington County and Montgomery County, Virginia. The County of Kentucky, comprising almost the same ter- ritory as is contained in the present State of Kentucky, was thus recognized as a political unit of the Virginia Com- monwealth, and as such was entitled to representation. This statute decided the fate of the Transylvania Com- pany, as there could not be two Sovereign Proprietors of 1 They hailed as representatives from "the western part of Fincastle County, on the Kentucky river," for want of a better title. Collins, II, p. 6ii. 2Hening's "Statutes at Large of Virginia," IX, p. 257; Brown's "Political Beginnings of Kentucky," p. 39. TRANSYLVANIA 6 1 the soil of Kentucky County. And so passed, a victim to its own lust of gain, the last attempt to establish a pro- prietary government upon the free soil of the United States; and George Rogers Clark, as founder of Ken- tucky's first political organization, became the political father of the Commonwealth, even as Daniel Boone had been the father of her colonization. CHAPTER III Kentucky's part in the American revolution The fate of Henderson's detested corporation having been decided, Clark was preparing to return to his home in the new county of Kentucky, when he received news that, although the precious powder, which had cost him such a conflict, had been conveyed to Pittsburg, as the Virginia Council had promised, no one had as yet appeared to bear it to its destination beyond the mountains. This task was by no means either a safe or an easy one, as the news of its intended transmission had in some way reached the Indians; but Clark and Jones started at once for Pitts- burg, determined that, at any cost, the stations should re- ceive their ammunition. Securing a small boat and seven boatmen, they placed the precious freight aboard, and quietly embarked for their dangerous journey down the Ohio. They were hotly pursued by Indians who, how- ever, were not provided with boats of sufficient size to follow by water, and were compelled to make their way along the wooded banks, so that by the time Clark reached a point near the present site of Maysville, known as the Three Islands,^ his pursuers were far behind. Running the boat quietly along the shaded bank of one of the is- lands, he entered the mouth of Limestone Creek, and carefully concealed the powder at different points in the thick underbrush which lined the shore.^ He then allowed 1 Collins, II, pp. 135, 445- 3 Details given in Butler, 1834 Ed., p. 41. 62 KENTUCKY'S PART IN THE REVOLUTION 63 the empty boat to drift down the river to decoy the enemy, while he and his companions proceeded unencumbered toward Harrodsburg, from which place he hoped to send back a guard to bring in the hidden cargo. After a short journey through the forests, the party came upon the lonely cabin of John Hinkson, where they met land surveyors who told them that the Indians had recently become so numerous in that district, as to cause the abandonment of most of the smaller stations. They also reported that Colonel John Todd was in the im- mediate neighborhood with a party sufficiently large, if added to Clark's own number, to convey the hidden pow- der in safety to Harrodsburg. Clark, therefore, left Jones and five of the boatmen, with directions to secure the aid of Todd and his party, while he himself, in company with the other two men, pushed on to McClelland's Fort. Here he found a condition bordering on despair. The station had been so weakened by desertions, since the re- newal of the Indian attacks in the region, that the garri- son was scarcely sufficient to maintain the post, and no men could be spared, for even so important a purpose as that of securing the much needed ammunition. Clark, therefore, hurried on to Harrodsburg, piloted by Simon Kenton. Here a guard of sufficient strength was supplied him, and he hastened back to rejoin his companions at Hinkson's; but arrived too late to prevent disaster. Shortly after Clark's departure. Colonel Todd had ar- rived with some half-dozen men, and, upon learning of the hidden stores, had persuaded Jones to lead him to the place where they had been deposited. It was a foolishly daring attempt, as events soon proved; for, as Todd and his little company of ten approached the banks of Limestone Creek, 64 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY (Christmas Day, 1776), they were attacked by a large band of savages under the famous Mingo Chief, Pluggy, who had been following Clark's trail, having discovered that his boat had been abandoned. Jones and William Graydon were killed, and two more of the party captured, while Todd with his five remaining men escaped to McClelland's Station where Clark and Kenton found them. Their ar- rival alone prevented a still more serious disaster, as Pluggy and his warriors knew that the station was in no condition to resist a determined attack, and, on January i, 1777, moved forward for its destruction. Meeting an unexpected resistance, in which their chief was killed, they soon withdrew, leaving McClelland and two of his garrison dead on the field of battle.^ Their retirement gave the opportunity so ardently prayed for, and Clark hastened to secure the precious powder, and convey it to Harrodsburg, while the startled inhabitants of McClel- land's Station sought the greater security of the stockaded forts, or hastily retraced their steps across the mountains to their old homes in the "Settlements."^ The news of Clark's return afi^orded great satisfaction to the five or six hundred pioneers, huddled together in the stockaded forts of Kentucky,^ and the powder, which was shortly distributed among the various stations, was a gift of priceless value, which, as they well understood, could never have reached them, but for the heroism and self- sacrifice of their new military leader. They rejoiced too 1 Butler, p. 42. 2 Kenton and the majority of the inhabitants of McClelland's took up their abode at Harrodsburg. Collins, II, p. 445. 3Winsor ("Westward Movement," p. in) places the population of the Kentucky forts at the opening of 1777 as about six hundred, only one-half of whom were "arms-bearing." KENTUCKY'S PART IN THE REVOLUTION 65 at his victory over Henderson, by which it had been made possible for them to secure indefeasible titles to their lands, and at the thought that they w^ere forever rid of quit rents, and were no longer subject to a band of lordly Proprietors.^ But their chief joy arose from the fact that they again saw among them the heroic figure of the man whom they had already begun to consider a leader capable of providing some effective means of defence against their savage ene- mies,^ now aided and abetted by the British. Their own methods, though heroic and picturesque to a degree, had not been very effective. Kentucky warfare, before the appearance of Clark, had been largely a matter of individual prowess, each pioneer selecting his own ground, carefully calculating the time and manner of the attack, and closing the campaign whenever he pleased. He would sharpen his hunting knife, shoulder his long rifle, fill his pockets with parched corn, as a convenient substi- tute for bread, and start for the Indian country, without the flourish of trumpets, or the inspiring beating of the drum. On arriving upon the enemies' soil he would crouch like a panther, stealthily approach the savage tents, and patiently await his chance of shooting an Indian, or of capturing a horse; then he would return to the planting of his crops, until exasperated to the point of making another attack. Even the more ambitious enterprises, styled "ex- peditions," had been merely the combination of a number 1 Instead of a government of Proprietors they soon found themselves living under a regular, organized, county government, which was set up early in 1777. The details of the organization are given in full in Marshall, I, pp. 47-48. (See Collins, II, p. 606.) Collins, II, 475, says that the first court was held at Harrodsburg, January 16, 1781, evidently an error. 2 Clark took regular military charge of the Kentucky settlements, early in the Spring (1777). Collins, II, p. 445. Kentucky — 5 66 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY of such private ventures, lacking both the formaUty and the dignity of real military expeditions. They were daring attempts to fight the savages according to their own mili- tary code, and were the result of necessity, rather than of deliberate choice. This method had answered the pur- pose as long as the savages had adhered to their practice of individual attacks, but, as the year 1776 drew to a close, it became evident that the American Revolution had in- troduced serious changes into savage warfare. The Indi- ans were organized as they had never been organized be- fore, and, although their British allies never succeeded in imposing real military discipline upon them, the raid of 1777 promised to be far more difficult to resist, than any which the pioneers had, as yet, been called upon to meet. Clark's return was, therefore, timely, and his presence most encouraging to the little frontier stations over whose military fortunes he had chosen to preside. As he talked to the settlers, and gathered details of their personal en- counters and hairbreadth escapes, during his long ab- sence in Virginia, he became more and more convinced that only by a campaign into the enemies' country could the period of border massacre be brought to a close. He suspected that the murderous bands which, from time to time appeared in Kentucky, were in British pay, and were designed to draw off troops from Washington's main army.^ That this was true, the full history of the matter has since shown. Colonel Henry Hamilton, whom the shrewd Carleton, Governor General of Canada, had put in charge 1 Winsor's "Westward Movement," pp. iii, 127. At a glance Clark had discovered what had so long escaped the watchful eyes of Virginia's great states- men, that the true source of the Indian devastations was the British posts, De- troit, Vincennes and Kaskaskia. Butler, 1834 Ed., p. 45. KENTUCKY'S PART IN THE REVOLUTION 67 of the post of Detroit/ had secured the Shawnees and Wyandots as alHes, and, in anticipation of orders which he had asked of Germain, was keeping them happy, and was seeking to attract other savage tribes, by sending them in raids against the American frontiers.^ His own state- ment of the following July shows that, up to that date, he had organized and dispatched no less than fifteen parties upon this fiendish mission.'* As a safeguard against surprises, upon which the In- dians, still unsupplied with cannon, largely depended when attacking stockaded forts, Clark arranged for the appoint- ment of six spies, pledging the faith of Virginia for the payment of their meager wages. They were detailed in turn, two each week, to range up and down the Ohio and about the deserted stations, and they added much to the security of the District, until the days of the great inva- sions which came with the advance of that memorable Spring (1777). Toward the end of February, Hamilton, sitting com- fortably in his headquarters at Detroit, decided that the time had arrived for crushing at one blow the three little frontier stations of Boonesborough, Harrodsburg, and Logan's Fort. Such a stroke, he plainly saw, would put an end to Kentucky colonization, make Virginia again a 1 Winsor's "Westward Movement," p. 87. Hamilton had reached his post in November, 1775. Ibid., p. 90. 2 The expected orders (dated March 26, 1777), were in accord with Hamil- ton's suggestions, and the course which he was already following. 3 Few of the British officers brought themselves so much under criticism for inciting savage barbarities as Governor Hamilton. He sang the war songs with the zest of a second Frontenac, and made presents to war parties which returned with white scalps; but it would be difficult to prove that he actually offered re- wards as an inducement to the Indians to take scalps. See Winsor's "West- ward Movement," p. 127. 68 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY frontier accessible to Indian raids, and conciliate the sav- ages, by giving them back their beloved hunting ground south of the Ohio; to say nothing of the advantage of holding in the West, for frontier defence, the experienced troops which Morgan, the American Indian agent for the middle department, was planning to send from Fort Pitt and Fort Randolph, to reinforce Washington's army in the East.^ The plans were carefully made, and only by a lucky chance was warning given to the little garrison at Harrodsburg, which had been singled out as the first vic- tim. On March 5, 1777,^ James Ray and several com- panions, while surveying near Harrodsburg, were suddenly attacked by a band of forty-seven Indians, commanded by the Chief, Blackfish.^ Ray alone escaped, making such use of his legs as astonished even the savage leaders, and, having gained the fort, gave the alarm. Preparations were hastily made for defence; a militia was organized, am- munition brought out, and w^ater and provisions secured. Two days later ^ the attack was begun, in characteristic Indian fashion, with a decoy, designed to lure the pioneers outside the protection of their strong palisade. A cabin, standing a little apart from the fort, was fired by the sav- ages, and the unsuspecting settlers rushed out to save their property. Instantly the forest was alive with painted war- riors, intent upon cutting off the retreat to the fort. The 1 The specific circumstance, as Winsor points out, which induced Hamil- ton to attempt this stroke at that particular moment, was the news that "Mor- gan, who was now commanding at Fort Pitt, had represented to headquarters in January, 1777, that if militia were drafted to take the place of the garrisons at Forts Pitt and Randolph, the regular companies doing duty there could be sent to reinforce the Eastern Army." Winsor's "Westward Movement," p. in. 2 Butler, p. 42; Collins, II, p. 611, puts Ray's escape a few days earlier. 3 Smith, p. 84. * Marshall, I, p. 48. KENTUCKY'S PART IN THE REVOLUTION 69 whites scattered, each man selecting a tree to serve as a shield, and, retreating toward the fort, kept up a deadly fire with the long rifle, which the pioneer always carried with him. As they reached the entrance, the gates were opened, and a quick rush carried them into a position of safety behind the protecting log walls. The failure of their plans discouraged the savages, who had no mind to attempt the siege of so strong a fort, while other stations remained which might possibly be taken by surprise. They accordingly vanished as noise- lessly as they had come, and, on April 15th, appeared be- fore the walls of Boonesborough, a hundred strong,^ and began a fierce and persistent attack. The little garrison, however, though numbering barely twenty-two guns, re- ceived the assault with such coolness, and with such per- fection of aim, that, after two days of battle, the savages retired, taking their dead and wounded with them. The next attempt (May 20th) was upon Logan's Fort, and fell with terrible and deadly suddenness. The women were milking the cows, and the men standing guard, as was customary in those troubled days, when the attack came. One man was killed and two wounded before the startled pioneers succeeded in reentering the fort, and when at last the great gates had been secured, the little garrison noticed with horror that one of their wounded had been left outside. They watched him raise himself from the ground with a violent exertion, stagger a few paces toward the gate, and fall back gasping. He was in full view of the fort, and also in short range of the sav- ages, who deliberately held their fire, in the hope that an attempt at rescue would offer them more desirable targets. 1 Winsor's "Westward Movement," p. iii. 70 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY With the garrison it was a conflict between sympathy and duty. The number of effective men in the fort had already been reduced from fifteen to twelve, and each additional loss would bring the women and children nearer to the -horrors of capture. At length, however, Colonel Benjamin Logan announced his intention of attempting the hazard- ous rescue, and called for volunteers to assist him. From such a venture even those hardened warriors of the fron- tier held back in horror. It was folly. It meant certain and instant death. Shame finally induced John Martin to offer his services. The gate was cautiously opened and the two men sprang forward; but Martin's courage forsook him, and he darted back to the gate which instantly opened to receive him. Logan, undaunted, raised the wounded man to his broad shoulders, and amid a shower of bullets from the savages, and a chorus of cheers from the garrison, bore him to safety behind the walls of the fort.^ And now began the horrors of one of the closest and most determined sieges know to frontier history, where no man could foresee the expedients by which the crafty sava- ges would seek to surprise them. At times it was the bold, persistent attack; at times the effort to lure the garrison to its destruction, by a pretended retreat. But, in general, as was their custom when besieging a strong fort defended by a palisade, the Indians aimed to cut off the supplies both of food and water, and, by keeping a close watch, day and night, to prevent any one from passing out or in.^ By these latter means, they held Logan's Fort for weeks, but 1 Marshall, I, pp. 50, 51. 2 Marshall, himself contemporary with the pioneer age in Kentucky, gives a detailed description of how the Indians ordinarily conducted a siege. See Vol. I, pp. 43, 44. KENTUCKY'S PART IN THE REVOLUTION 71 at last, the long and heroic defence was rewarded. In August, Colonel Bowman ^ entered Kentucky County at the head of one hundred men, and directed his course to the almost desperate station. The savages raised the siege, as he drew near, but made their farewell in a most effective manner. They prepared an ambuscade for Colonel Bowman's advanced guard, which ventured to approach at some distance ahead of the main body, and, having killed several of them, selected one, upon whose dead body they placed copies of a proc- lamation, signed by Colonel Henry Hamilton,^ and offer- ing protection to such Americans as would swear allegi- ance to George III, while threatening the direst vengeance against all who should refuse the mercy thus generously offered. This document, a presumptive proof of Hamil- ton's connection with the late siege, was discovered by the fellow soldiers of the dead man and given to Logan, who carefully concealed it, fearing that it might prove too tempting an offer to his men, worn out as they were by anxiety, long confinement and privation. These various attacks, although signally failing to ac- complish the chief purpose for which Hamilton had de- signed them, checked the process of western settlement. Even the few unfortified stations which had weathered the storms of 1776, had fallen before these later invasions, and, by January, 1778, Kentucky County was deserted, 1 Winsor's "Westward Movement," p. iii, says August. Boone's "Auto- biography" says the 25th of July. Cf. Hartley's "Boone." Marshall, I, p. 53, says September. 2 Marshall assigns the proclamation to Carleton himself, see Vol. I, p. 53, but we know that, some months before, Carleton had received instructions from England, which relieved him of all responsibility for the war, in the regions about the upper lakes, placing the military affairs of that region entirely in the hands of Hamilton. 72 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY save for the three gallant little forts, whose combined garri- sons, exclusive of the occasional bands of militia sent out by Virginia, numbered only one hundred guns, and whose total population, men, women, and children, did not exceed two hundred souls. ^ These events confirmed Clark in the opinion that safety for the Kentucky settlements could only be secured by the reduction of the British forts in the Northwest. But before he could hope to accomplish this, he saw that he must gain an accurate knowledge of the coun- try where these hostile posts were situated, and that he must secure the financial and military aid of Virginia, which, as the parent colony, ought, he felt, to be willing to bear the chief burden of such an enterprise. He there- fore sent out, during the summer, two spies with instruc- tions to make a thorough investigation of the Illinois country,^ and to report to him as soon as possible. To- ward autumn they returned ^ with tidings which, though fully confirming Clark's suspicions that the British were instigating the Indian attacks, encouraged him in the be- lief that the Northwestern posts could be taken without the aid of a very large body of troops. The French in- habitants of the Illinois country, they represented as dis- posed to be friendly toward the American cause, very few of them having taken part in the barbarous raids, directed from Hamilton's station in Detroit. They declared that this kindly attitude had persisted, although the British had endeavored, by every kind of misrepresentation, to preju- dice them against the Virginians and Kentuckians, whom 1 Butler, p. 95. 2 Butler, p. 46, mentions the names. 3 Winsor's "Westward Movement," p. 117, says on June 22d, but Collins, I, p. 19, says they were still in Illinois on July 25th, KENTUCKY'S PART IN THE REVOLUTION JS they had represented as far more cruel and barbarous than even the savages themselves. Of such people Clark saw that it would not be difficult to make American allies, if only they could be rescued from the dominating influence of British soldiers. Keeping his intentions entirely secret, he departed for Williamsburg on October the first, and about two months later, ex- plained his views in detail to the Governor of Virginia, Patrick Henry, who, knowing the military skill and fore- sight of the young frontiersman, gave him careful atten- tion. Clark's plan had grown since his last appearance, demanding simply five hundred pounds of powder for frontier defence. Now he asked for men and money, to fit out an extensive military expedition, and proposed to perform a deed which appeared almost impossible. "At first," says Clark, in speaking, in his memoirs, of this important conference, "he seemed to be fond of it, but to detach a party at so great distance, although the service performed might be of great utility, appeared daring and hazardous, as nothing but secrecy could give success to the enterprise. To lay the matter before the Assembly, then sitting, would be dangerous, as it would soon be known throughout the frontiers, and probably the first prisoner taken by the Indians would give the alarm, which would end in the certain destruction of the party." Henry, however, called together Thomas Jefferson, George Wythe and George Mason, and requested Clark to explain his plans to them. These men considered the matter with minute care for several weeks, discussing it from every conceivable standpoint, and at length (on Jan- uary 2, 1778), communicated a favorable decision to the Virginia Council, urging that all steps, necessary to the 74 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY execution of Clark's plans, be taken "with as little delay and as much secrecy as possible." On the same day Clark received two sets of instructions from the Council. The first, intended as a blind for the public, reads as follows: "Lieut. Col. Geo. Rogers Clark: "You are to proceed without loss of time to enlist seven companies of men, officered in the usual manner, to act as militia under your orders. They are to proceed to Kentucky and there to obey such orders and directions as you shall give them, for three months after their arrival at that place; but to receive pay, etc., in case they remain on duty a longer time. "You are empowered to raise these men in any county in the Commonwealth, and the County Lieutenants, re- spectively, are requested to give you all possible assistance in that business. "Given under my hand at WiUiamsburg, Jan. 2, 1778. " P. Henry." ^ The private instructions were contained in the following letter: "In Council, Wmburg., Jan. 2, 1778. "Col. Geo. Rogers Clark: "Sir: — You are to proceed with all convenient speed to raise seven companies of soldiers to consist of fifty men each, officered in the usual manner, and armed most properly for the enterprise, and with this force attack the British post at Kaskasky. " It is conjectured that there are many pieces of cannon, and military stores to considerable amount at that place, 1 Pirtle's "Campaign in the Illinois," p. 95. KENTUCKY'S PART IN THE REVOLUTION 75 the taking and preservation of which would be a valuable acquisition to the State. If you are so fortunate, there- fore, as to succeed in your Expedition you will take every possible measure to secure the artillery and stores and whatever may advantage the State. "For the transportation of the troops, provisions, etc., down the Ohio you are to apply to the commanding officer at Fort Pitt, for Boats, etc. During the whole transaction you are to take especial care to keep the true destination of your Force secret. Its success depends upon this. . . . "It is earnestly desired that you show humanity to such British subjects, and other persons, as fall in your hands. If the white Inhabitants of that post and the neighborhood will give undoubted evidence of their attachment to this State (for it is certain they live within its Hmits) by taking the test prescribed by Law and by every way and means in their power, let them be treated as fellow citizens, and their persons and property duly secured. Assistance and protection against all enemies whatever shall be afforded them, and the Commonwealth of Va. is pledged to ac- complish it. But if the people will not accede to these reasonable demands, they must feel the miseries of war under the direction of that Humanity that has hitherto distinguished Americans, and which it is expected you will ever consider as the Rule of your conduct and from which you are in no Instance to depart. "The corps you are to command are to receive the pay and allowance of militia, and to act under the Laws and regulations of this State, now in force, as militia. The inhabitants of the Post will be informed by you, that in case they accede to the offer of becoming citizens of this Commonwealth, a proper garrison will be maintained 76 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY among them and every attention bestowed to render their commerce beneficial, the fairest prospects being opened to the dominions of both France and Spain. "It is in contemplation to establish a post near the mouth of the Ohio. Cannon will be wanted to fortify it. Part of those at Kaskasky will be easily brought thither or otherwise secured as circumstances will make neces- sary. . . .^ Wishing you success, I am "Sir " Your hbl. sr^ "P. Henry." 2 The next day Clark received from the three distinguished statesmen, Wythe, Mason and Jefferson, a letter authoriz- ing him to use, at the proper time, certain inducements as a means of quickly enlisting the necessary troops for the expedition. It reads thus: "WilHamsburg, Jan. 3, 1778. "Sir: " As some Indian tribes to the westward of the Missis- sippi have lately, without provocation, massacred many of the Inhabitants of the Frontiers of this Commonwealth in the most cruel and barbarous manner, and it is intended to revenge the Injury and punish the Aggressors by carrying the war into their own country, we congratulate you upon your appointment to conduct so important an enterprise in which we most heartily wish you success, and we have no doubt but some further reward in lands in the country will be given to volunteers who shall engage in this serv- ice, in addition to the usual pay, if they are so fortunate 1 See " Annals of Kentucky," Collins, I, p. i8. 2 English, "Life of George Rogers Clark," I, p. 96. Pirtle's "Campaign in the Illinois," pp. 96-97, transcribes the document. KENTUCKY'S PART IN THE REVOLUTION 'J^ as to succeed. We think it just and reasonable that each volunteer entering as a common soldier in this expedition should be allowed three hundred acres of land and the officers in the usual proportion, out of the lands which may be conquered in the country not in the possession of the said Indians, so as not to interfere with the claims of any friendly Indians or of any people willing to become subjects of this Commonwealth, and for this we think you may safely confide in the justice and Generosity of the Va. Assembly. "We are Sir "Your most Hble. Serv*^ "G.Wythe. "G. Mason. "Th. Jefferson. "To George Rogers Clark, Esq." Armed with such complete authority, and supported by the pledge of men so influential, not only in Virginia, but throughout the entire country, Clark at once set about his plans for enlistment, and his preparations for depar- ture, doing all as secretly as possible, according to his in- structions. During the next four months his tremendous energies were fully occupied in this work, for the raising and equipping of even a small body of troops, in those anxious times, was no easy task. During this same winter (February, 1778), Daniel Boone, accompanied by thirty men, was encamped at the Blue Licks, on the Licking River, making salt for his settlement. Having wandered some distance from camp, with the intention of securing a supply of game, he came upon a band of one hundred and two Indians bound for 78 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY an attack upon Boonesborough, and was made prisoner. "They . . . brought me on the 8th day," says Boone,^ "to the Licks, where twenty-seven of my party were, three of them having previously returned home with the salt. I, knowing it was impossible for them to escape, capitulated with the enemy, and, at a distance, in their view, gave notice to my men of their situation, with orders not to resist, but surrender themselves captives." Boone's object in making this surrender of his compan- ions was to prevent the meditated attack upon the fort, which he knew to be in no very good condition for defence, for he felt certain that the Indians, upon finding themselves in possession of so many prisoners, would hasten home to receive their reward from the British, and to enjoy a season of celebration. And so indeed it happened. "The generous usage," continues Boone's Autobiography, "the Indians had promised before my capitulation, was after- ward fully complied with, and we proceeded with them as prisoners to Old Chilicothe, the principal Indian Town on Little Miami where we arrived ... on the i8th day of February. . . . On the loth day of March following, I and ten of my men were conducted by forty Indians to Detroit, . . . and were treated by Governor Hamilton, the British Commander at that post, with great human- ity." Here Boone's companions were handed over to the British allies, in exchange for the customary reward; but no gold could tempt his savage captors to part with the hero himself, "although," says Boone, with a touch of 1 "Autobiography." Marshall, I, p. 55, gives February 7th as the date of Boone's capture, and this is confirmed by Boone's "Autobiography" (Reprinted in Hartley's "Boone," Appendix). KENTUCKY'S PART IN THE REVOLUTION 79 complacency, "the Governor offered them one hundred pounds Sterling for me, on purpose to give me a parole to go home. Several English gentlemen," he adds, with that fine independence so characteristic of the frontier, "... generously offered a friendly supply for my wants, which I refused, with many thanks for their kindness — adding, that I never expected it would be in my power to recompense such unmerited generosity." The Indians, having thus disposed of their less illus- trious captives, took Boone back to Old Chillicothe where, says Boone, "I was adopted, according to their custom, into a family where I became a son, and had a great share in the affection of my new parents, brothers, sisters, and friends." This ceremony of adoption, although considered the greatest possible compliment by the Indians, was a very painful and humiliating process. The hair was pulled out until the head was entirely bald, with the exception of the "scalp lock," which was left long, and adorned with ribbons and feathers. The victim was then handed over to women who led him into the river and scrubbed him thoroughly, to "take out all his white blood." He was next conducted to the council of braves, where the chief made a formal address intended to impress upon him the greatness of the honor thus thrust upon him, and finally, painted and decorated in the most elaborate style, he was conducted with great pomp, to a feast given in honor of the new son of the tribe. ^ Boone accepted these courtesies with apparent satis- faction, knowing that his chance of escape would be much greater if he could persuade the Indians that he was per- 1 Hartley's "Boone," p. 131. 8o KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY fectly contented to remain one of them. "I was exceed- ingly familiar and friendly with them," he says/ " always appearing as cheerful and satisfied as possible, and they put great confidence in me. ... I was careful not to ex- ceed many of them in shooting; for no people are more envious than they in this sport." But all the time he was dividing into halves the bullets allowed him, and using light charges of powder, preparing for the day when he should deem it advisable to make good his escape.^ Watching for the first signs of a new expedition against the Kentucky stations, and ready instantly to carry the alarm, he bided his time, until one day, toward the middle of June, upon his return from the salt springs on the Scioto, he was alarmed to see four hundred and fifty In- dians, painted and armed, ready for a march against Boonesborough. The time for escape had at last arrived, and, on the i6th of June, before sunrise, he slipped quietly away, arriving at Boonesborough on the 20th, after a journey of one hundred and sixty miles, during which he had eaten but one meal.^ His reception at the hands of some of his fellow pioneers was far from cordial. Stephen Hancock, one of the men whom Boone had surrendered at Blue Licks, had returned to Boonesborough and had reported "that the Indians in a great army was a coming to take boonsbourrough that Colonel Daniel Boone was at Detroyt and had agreed with the british officers that he would come with the In- dians and that their fort should be given up and that the 1 "Autobiography." 2 Bogart's "Boone," p. 192. 3 Filson's "Kentucke." During his absence Boone's family had returned to North Carolina, supposing him to be dead. (Collins, II, p. 59.) Robert B. McAfee's " Journal." KENTUCKY'S PART IN THE REVOLUTION 8i people should be taken to Detroyt and live under the juris- diction of his gracious Majesty King George III." In answer to these accusations Boone declared that, "he was a Discieving the British officers and Indians and he was now come to help his own people fight and they must make what preparation they could, but the Indians would certainly be their in a few days. . . ." ^ On August 8, 1778,^ the savage army approached the fort, four hundred painted warriors, and eleven Frenchmen, commanded by the Canadian Frenchman, Captain Du- quesne, and the great chief, Blackfish, and proudly bear- ing aloft the colors of His Britannic Majesty.^ A parley ensued, Duquesne demanding the surrender of the fort in the name of King George III, and Boone responding with a request for two days for consideration, which was promptly granted. Having made the most of this brief period of respite to strengthen the defences and bring the cattle within the walls of the fort, Boone delivered his reply, astonishingly defiant in view of the vast disparity of the contending forces.^ "We laugh at your formidable preparations; but thank 1 Daniel Trabue's "Autobiography and Diary," Durrett MSS. 2 Butler, p. 97, following Boone's "Autobiography," places this attack on August 8th, while Collins (Vol. II, p. 19) says that it began on September 7th. The " Journal of Robert McAfee," also gives August 8th. 3 Marshall, I, p. 59. Boone, in his "Autobiography" says the British and French colors were both flying over the Indian army, certainly a strange combination in view of the recent Franco-American Alliance, news of which had reached Clark at Louisville before the middle of the previous June. * With the additions of the last few months the garrison was less than fifty men (Marshall, I, p. 60), but this does not include the aid sent from Harrods- burg and Logan's Fort just before the arrival of the savage army. General Robert B. McAfee (Durrett MSS.) says there were only twenty-nine men in the station during the siege; but this is an evident error. McAfee's description of the conference and the siege is graphic and interesting, though differing con- siderably from those of Boone and Daniel Trabue. Kentucky — 6 82 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY you for giving us notice and time to provide for our de- fense. Your efforts will not prevail; for our gates shall forever deny you admittance:" in which defiance, in spite of the obtrusive formalism given it by Filson, the rhetori- cian, we catch the ring of real pioneer days. Duquesne, however, hesitated to attack, unable to grasp the idea that this garrison of seventy-five men, meant to resist his savage four hundred and twelve. His hesita- tion Boone attributed to cowardice. "Whether this an- swer," he says, " affected their courage or not I can not tell; but, contrary to our expectations, they formed a scheme to deceive us, declaring it was their orders, from Governor Hamilton, to take us captives, and not to destroy us; but if nine of us would come out and treat with them, they would immediately withdraw their forces from our walls, and return home peaceably." Although suspecting treachery, Boone agreed to treat; and Daniel Trabue, a prominent pioneer of Logan's Fort, has left us the following account of the conference, and of the siege which followed.^ " Previously to their going out. Col. Calloway ^ told the people in the fort they must be Redy with their guns if the Indians use any violence to fire on them and he also told them for the women to put on hats and hunting shirts and appear as men and get upon the top of the walls and their might appear as a great many men, and the women did 1 The account given in Boone's "Autobiography" is well known: but Tra- bue's account has not before been published. A detailed account of the Con- ference is also given in a document entitled "The Indian Attack upon Boones- borough in 1778," Durrett MSS., unpublished. See also McClung's "Stories of Western Adventure," p. 56. 2 Col. Richard Calloway had strongly opposed the Conference, but had been overruled. KENTUCKY'S PART IN THE REVOLUTION 83 so and the men in the fort did also get on the walls and cabins and showd to good advantage their was about 75 white men in the fort and about 1000 indians around the fort ^ about 30 of the Indian Chiefs came up in about fifty yards of the Fort Col. Boon with them & our officers about 15 ^ went to them and they had a long talk and the Indians made or pretended to make a firm Peace with the white people and said we must shake hands for friendship which the white people agreed to do. So they shook hands the Indians then said shake hands again and so they did now the Indians sayed two Indians must shake hands with one white man to make a Double or sure peace at this time the Indians had hold of the white men's hands and held them. Col. Calloway ob- jected to this but the other Indians laid hold or tryed to lay hold of the other hand but Col. Calloway was the first that jerked away from them but the Indians seized the men two Indians holt of one man or it was mostly the case and did their best to hold them but while the man and Indians was a scuffling the men from the Fort agreeable to Col. Calloway's order fired on them they had a dread- ful skufi^el but our men all got in the fort safe and the fire continued on both sides after that Col. Calloway had made a wooden cannon and took wagon tyre and wrapt it and the Indians had agreeable assembled together at a dis- tance Calloway loaded his cannon and put in 20 or 30 ounce balls and fired at the Indians it made a large re- port equal to a cannon the Indians squandered from that 1 A not unnatural exaggeration of the numbers. 2 General Robt. B. McAfee says that only " Boone and five or six of his men went out" (Durrett MSS.), while Boone, in his "Autobiography" (Reprint Hartley's " Boone," Appendix) gives the clear impression that nine men went to the Conference. 84 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY place much frightened and it was thought several killed or wounded this cannon was fired the second time and bursted the last time it, was fired at a group of Indians at a distance and it made them skamper perdidiously whether they was hit with the bullits or whether it was the big loud Report it was uncertain but one thing is a fact they never was seen in gropes in sight after that time the Indians would sometimes hollow aloud to our men and curse them and said why dont you shoot your big gun again our men did answer them get many of you together and we will shoot it but it is not worth while to shoot at one Indian when he is running or Dodging this fort was close on the bank of the Kentucky River and it was discovered from the fort that there was an old cedar stick or pole that come up out of the Camp perpendicular and it was observed to shake; our men knew that the indians was digging a pass- way this was a project of a Canadian frenchman as was thought . . . Col. Calloway immediately had our men at Diging a ditch opposite the Indian ditch. Capt. Holder a large strong man took big stones and cast them from the fort over the Camp expecting they might fall on some of the Indians one of the women of the fort said Dont do so Capt. it might hurt some of the Indians and they will be mad and have revenge for the same and the In- dians and our men did almost meet under the fort a Digging they could hear one another a digging and when the Indians heard that they quit supposing our people might or would put their big gun their, the Siege contin- ued for 10 days & nights our men received but little dam- age from the Indians fire but it was thought there was several Indians Killed." It was August the twentieth when Duquesne raised the KENTUCKY'S PART IN THE REVOLUTION 85 siege and departed,^ taking his dead and wounded with him, and the men who had come in from the neighboring forts to aid in the defence, at once hastened back to their own stations, fearful lest the force of the savage army should be turned against them. Thus ended the last serious attempt to capture the fort at Boonesborough, and to those of us who to-day read the quaint fragments of its history it is quite clear that Boone was its hero and patriot throughout. While Boone had been playing his part in Old Chilli- cothe, posing as the son of a savage tribe, and watching his brother red men for the first sign of a renewed invasion of Kentucky, George Rogers Clark was preparing to march with the little army, which he had succeeded in raising for his proposed campaign, against the Northwestern posts. He had enlisted three companies, one hundred and fifty men in all, and early in May, 1778, reached the mouth of the Kanawha in the course of his journey down the Ohio. Here he was joined by additional volunteers, and a few more immigrants were added to the already considerable band who had taken advantage of the expedition to enter the wilderness under convoy. As the little flotilla pro- ceeded slowly down the river, some of these latter were landed at various points; but when Clark reached the Falls, on May the twenty-seventh,^ about eighty of them 1 Marshall, I, p. 62. Robert B. McAfee (Reprint of Journal, " Smith," p. loi) adds "after the siege, the people picked up near the fort walls, one hundred and twenty-five pounds of leaden bullets which had fallen, besides those which struck in the logs and palisades." 2 The date is not mentioned in Clark's "Memoirs," nor in his letter to George Mason, dated November 17, 1779. It is, however, accurately fixed by Col. R. T. Durrett, in his "Centenary of Louisville," p. 29, who remarks that from this day "the Falls of the Ohio was never without occupation by actual settlers." Ibid., p. 31. 86 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY still remained with the expedition, though ignorant of its purpose and destination, as indeed were most of his very officers themselves. Upon Corn Island, in the Ohio, op- posite the present city of Louisville, Clark built a stout stockade, as a protection to these settlers, and a place for storing his surplus supplies, and the news of the establish- ment of this post being carried to the people living along the Monongahela, great numbers of them hastened to join it. As the leader of the Kentucky militia, Clark expected that a good many men from the Kentucky stations would join him, and had included them in his call for volunteers; but the garrisons at Boonesborough, Harrodsburg and Logan's Fort had their eyes turned northward and thought very little of the unnamed expedition preparing at Corn Island. Hancock had just arrived at Boonesborough with his tale of the impending Indian invasion, and it is therefore, in no wise remarkable that "only Kenton and Haggin left the Stations to accompany him" at this call; though it is remarkable that the three captains in com- mand of the three companies which Clark had raised be- yond the mountains, all figure in Kentucky pioneer history, while the fourth company, which joined the expedition just before its departure, was composed of volunteers from Kentucky County, commanded by Captain Jos. Mont- gomery.^ Of the rank and file it is more difficult to speak, but it is perhaps safe to say, with Colonel Durrett ^ that, " there were but few of Clark's volunteers when he began the Illinois campaign who were not, or did not after- wards, become citizens of Kentucky." 1 For list of companies and captains, see Collins, I, p. 19. 2 "Kentucky Centenary," p. 10. KENTUCKY'S PART IN THE REVOLUTION 87 When everything was thought to be ready, 'Clark made known to his soldiers the object of his expedition, at the same time giving orders to prepare to march against Kaskaskia on the following day.^ Had his force been larger he would probably have advanced at once upon Vincennes, but he felt this to be injudicious on account of the fewness of his soldiers, who numbered all told less than two hundred men. " I knew that my case was des- perate," he writes,^ " but the more I reflected on my weakness the more I was pleased with the enterprise." In the early morning of June 24th (1778), the army em- barked, (ten men having been left behind as a garrison for the little fort on Corn Island,) and at nine o'clock the flo- tilla shot into the rapids, "at the very moment of the sun being in a great eclipse." After two days, with relays of rowers working day and night, they landed on a small island, "three leagues below the Tennessee," and made their preparations for the long overland trip which was to follow. Here they were joined by a party of six hunters, who had left Kaskaskia eight days before, and who ofi^ered their services upon learning that the expedition was march- ing against that station. One of these, John Sanders, Clark engaged as a guide, but refused the aid of the other five. Placing himself at the head of his little army, pre- pared to share all the hardships of his men, Clark now started toward the Northwest (June 26th) on an expedi- tion which, as Bancroft declares, "for the valor of the ac- 1 While making his preparations at Corn Island, intelligence of the recent French Alliance had reached Clark from Fort Pitt. Winsor's "Westward Movement," p. 118. 2 Letter of Clark to George Mason giving a detailed account of the Illinois campaign. It is dated Falls of Ohio, November 19, 1779, and comprises some one hundred odd pages of manuscript. Durrett MSS. 88 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY tors, their fidelity to one another, the seeming feebleness of their means and the great results of their hardihood, remains forever memorable in the history of the World." One hundred and twenty miles of swampy and difficult road lay between them and Kaskaskia. "On the third day," writes Clark in his memoir, "John Sanders, our principal guide, appeared confused and we soon discov- ered that he was totally lost, without there was some other cause of his present conduct." Clark threatened va- rious modes of assisting his memory, but violent measures proved unnecessary, as Sanders shortly succeeded in get- ting his bearings and, on the evening of July the fourth, they arrived within the immediate vicinity of Kaskaskia. "I learned," continues Clark, "that they had some sus- picion of being attacked and had made some preparations, keeping out spies, but they making no discoveries had got off their guard. I immediately divided my little army into two divisions, ordered one to surround the town, with the other I broke into the fort, secured the Governor, Mr. Rochblave, in fifteen minutes had every street se- cured, sent runners through the town ordering the people on pain of death, to keep close to their houses, which they observed, and before daylight had the whole town dis- armed." The inhabitants of Kaskaskia were terrified at finding themselves in the hands of the Americans, from whom they had been taught to expect savage and brutal usage. But Clark treated them with great kindness, "for," he says, "the towns of Cohos [Cahokia] and St. Vincents [Vin- cennes], and the numerous tribes of Indians attached to the French were yet to influence — for I was too weak to treat them any other way. ... I sent for the principal KENTUCKY'S PART IN THE REVOLUTION 89 men of the town, and explained the nature of the dispute to them in as clear Hght as I was capable of . . . and that our principle was to make those we reduced free in- stead of enslaving them," which treatment soon won them over to the American cause and they declared that they would, "think themselves the happiest people in the world if they were united with the Americans." Clark further announced that it was his intention, in a few days, to administer the oath of fidelity to the Ameri- can cause, but that, "in the meantime any of them that chose was at liberty to leave the country except two or three particular persons." He still had in mind an attack upon Vincennes as the / chief stronghold of the British in this region; but, before making this attempt, he sent a part of his forces to cap- ture the French settlements scattered through the Missis- sippi Valley, chief among which was Cahokia, a few miles below the present site of St. Louis. This enterprise was entrusted to Captain Joseph Bowman, and was accom- plished almost without resistance. Kaskaskia and Cahokia now became strongholds for further operations, the former being henceforth called Fort Clark and the latter Fort Bowman. Being inhab- ited by people of almost pure French extraction, whose hereditary dislike for the English rule had been rein- forced by the news of the recent French alliance, they proved of great assistance to Clark in his operations against Vincennes. Soon after the capture of Kaskaskia, Clark sent Simon Kenton to carry his dispatches to the Falls of the Ohio, with directions to visit on his way the British post at Vin- cennes, and to ascertain the exact condition of its defences. 90 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY This service was accomplished with great care, and after three days spent near the town and three nights in the vil- lage itself, Kenton sent a messenger to report to Clark that the inhabitants of Vincennes, being mostly French, were disposed to favor the cause of the Americans; which infor- mation was supplemented by the statements of Father Gibault, priest of the villages of Kaskaskia and Vincennes. Gibault, won over to the American cause by Clark's generous treatment of his prisoners at Kaskaskia, and also, perhaps, by the news that France had allied herself with this country, attached himself to Clark's cause, and voluntarily proposed "to win the allegiance of the impor- tant town of Vincennes without the use of troops." Clark gladly accepted the offer, and, on July 14th, the priest set out on his mission. He was accompanied by Doc- tor Jean B. Lafont, an influential gentleman of Kas- kaskia, who was to act as political agent, Father Gibault preferring not "to seem to be acting in any than a spiritual capacity." Lieutenant Leonard Helm was detailed to watch over the American interests during the negotiations, and to take military command of Vincennes in case of its surrender. The mission proved entirely successful. On arriving at the fort Clark's envoys spent a few days in making ex- planations to the people, who readily accepted the pro- posal to join the American cause. Mr. Abbott, the Gov- ernor of the post, had lately gone to Detroit, and the offi- cers in charge hastened to leave the country. The people at once elected an officer, garrisoned the fort and, on Au- gust 1st, displayed the American flag above it, greatly to the wonder of the Indians, who were told that their old father, the King of France, had come to life again, and KENTUCKY'S PART IN THE REVOLUTION 91 was angry with them for fighting for the EngHsh, and that, if they did not wish their land to be bloody with war, they must make peace with the Americans. As peace with the savage tribes had been the chief in- centive for his expedition, Clark, being now in possession of the desired posts, turned his attention to the Indians, many of whom had sought refuge in Vincennes, upon the news of the fall of Kaskaskia. They were eager to treat for peace, and, Clark remarks with evident satisfaction, "our influence began to spread among the nations even to the border of the States." ' After some five weeks spent in these negotiations, chiefly at Cahokia, Clark returned to Kaskaskia, leaving Bowman to act for him during his absence.^ Colonel Henry Hamilton was at this time acting as Lieu- tenant Governor at Detroit, and when Francis Maisonville bore to him the astonishing news of Clark's conquest of the Illinois Country, he at once began preparations for retaking it. In a letter to Governor Patrick Henry, dated Kaskaskia, February 3, 1779,^ Clark thus describes Hamil- ton's success and his own plans: " ... A late Menuvr. of the famous Hair Buyer, Henry Hamilton Esqr. Lieut. Governor of Detroit, hath alarmed us much; on the i6th of December last, he with a body of 600 men, composed of regulars, French vol- unteers and Indians took possession of St. Vincent on the Wabash and what few men that composed ^ the Garrison not being able to make the least defence. . . . 1 "Memoirs." 2 Detailed descriptions of Clark's negotiations with the Indians during this period will be found in Butler, 1834 Ed., Chap. IV. 3 Durrett MSS. ^ A letter from Lieutenant Helm to Clark, declares that, owing to desertions 92 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY "Yesterday I fortunately got every piece of intelligence that I could wish for, by a Spanish Gent, that made his escape from Mr. Hamilton. No attack to be made on the Garrison at Kaskaskia until the Spring. . . . "Being sensible that without reinforcements, which at present I have hardly a right to expect, I shall be obliged to give up the Country to Mr. Hamilton without a turn of fortune in my favour, I am resolved to take advantage of this present situation and risque the whole in a single battle. I shall set out in a few days, with all the force I can raise of my own troops, and a few militia that I can depend on, amounting in the whole to only 170 .. . men ... I know the case is desperate, but Sir! we must either quit the country or attack Mr. Hamilton. ... In case we fall . . . this country as well as Kentucky I be- lieve is lost. . . ." Accordingly, on February 5, 1779, the little army started from Kaskaskia, and took up that terrible march of some one hundred and seventy ^ miles toward Vin- cennes, Captain Rogers having been previously dispatched with forty-six men and two four-pounders in the boat, "Willing," with orders to force his way up the Wabash as far as the mouth of the White River, there to await further commands. The march was of almost inconceivable hardship and at the news of Hamilton's approach, only twenty-one men were left, out of a garrison recently numbering about seventy. He continued to dictate this letter until Hamilton and the invading army were within 300 yards of the fort, and then closed with an expression of doubt as to whether there are four men left who can be depended on. "The usual Story of his (Helm's) marching out with one man," says Winsor ("Westward Movement," p. 131), "may perhaps be questioned." That story is repeated in " Smith," p. 135. 1 English's "Clark," I, pp. 288-289. Clark himself overestimated the dis- tance, describing it as about 240 miles, and Hamilton commits a similar error. KENTUCKY'S PART IN THE REVOLUTION 93 danger, leading for miles through drowned meadows, where the water, from two to three feet deep,^ was often filled with floating ice. But "the finest Stallion there is in the country," bore the gallant commander through, and his men followed with the dauntless courage of frontiersmen, long inured to hardships. The following entry in Major Bowman's diary, under date of Febru- ary 23rd, shows the spirit of these men. "Set ofi^," he writes, "to cross the plain, about four miles long, all covered with water breast high. Here we expected that some of our brave men must certainly perish, having frozen in the night and so long fasting. Having no other resource but wading this plain, or rather, lake of waters, we plunged into it with courage. Colonel Clark being first. In the midst of this wading rather than marching, a little drummer boy, who floated along on his drumhead, aff'orded much of the merriment that helped to divert the men from their hardships." Clark himself, in his brief but remarkable memoir, gives the incident, though with more of the dramatic set- ting which doubtless belonged to it. ". . . . A drummer boy," he says, "the pet of the regi- ment, was placed on the shoulders of a tall man and or- dered to beat for his life. I halted and called to Major Bowman to fall in the rear with twenty-five men, and put to death any man who refused to march, as we wished to have none such among us. The whole gave a cry of ap- probation, and on we went." Arrived, at length, within a few miles of Vincennes, Clark, conscious that an attack could not be made before an alarm would be given, decided to avail himself of the 1 Collins, II, p. 138. 94 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY friendly feeling which he knew characterized most of the inhabitants of the town, and to play a bold game. He, therefore, dispatched a messenger with the following ad- dress: " To the Inhabitants of Post Vincennes — "Gentlemen: " Being now within two miles of your village, with my army determined to take your fort this night, and not being willing to surprise you, I take this method to re- quest such of you as are true citizens, and willing to enjoy the liberty I bring you, to remain still in your houses, — and those, if any there be, that are friends to the king, will instantly repair to the fort and join the hair-buyer general and fight like men. And if any such as do not go to the fort shall be discovered afterward, they may depend on severe punishment. On the contrary, those who are true friends to liberty may depend on being well treated; and I once more request them to keep out of the streets. For every one I find in arms on my arrival, I shall treat him as an enemy. " G. R. Clark." Such an announcement gave the inhabitants of the town the idea that they were about to be attacked by a power- ful force, and they at once concluded that the besieging army had just come from Kentucky, as it was considered impossible that an attack could be made from Illinois, on account of the quantity of water which covered the coun- try in that direction. So great was their terror that even the British partisans among them dared not announce Clark's approach to the garrison at the fort, and Hamil- ton, taken completely by surprise, promptly surrendered. "Towards the close of the day (Feb. 24, 1779), the KENTUCKY'S PART IN THE REVOLUTION 95 following articles of capitulation were proposed and ac- cepted : *'i Lieutenant-Gov. Hamilton engages to deliver up to Colonel Clark, Fort Sackville, as it is at present, with all stores, etc. II The garrison are to deliver themselves as prisoners of war, and march out with their arms and accoutrements, etc. III The garrison to be delivered up to-morrow, at 10 o'clock. IV Three days time to be allowed the garrison to settle their accounts with the inhabitants and traders of this place. V The officers of the garrison to be allowed their neces- sary baggage, etc. "Signed at post St. Vincent (Vincennes) Feb. 24 (1779). "Agreed for the following reasons: The remoteness from succor; the state and quantity of provisions, etc.; unanimity of officers and men in its expediency; the honorable terms allowed; and lastly, the confidence in a generous enemy. " [Signed] Henry Hamilton. " Lieutenant Governor and Superintendent." ^ About 10 o'clock in the morning of the following day the surrender was made, the arms of the enemy were se- 1 Reprint, English's, " Life of George Rogers Clark," I, pp. 341 et seq. Clark to George Mason, November 19, 1779. Durrett MSS. This letter mentions the five articles, but does not give the reasons. In March, Hamilton, with such prisoners as had not been paroled, was sent under guard to Virginia. Hamilton remained in confinement at Williamsburg until October, 1780, when he was sent on parole to New York. On July 6, 1781, he made a report to Haldimand, which is the chief British source for the history of these campaigns. Winsor's "Westward Movement," p. 135. 96 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY cured, the American flag was raised over the captured fort, and its name was changed to Fort Patrick Henry, in honor of the Governor of Virginia. Two days later the "WilHng" arrived with her rein- forcement of forty-seven men, having been delayed by the fierce current of the Wabash. There came with her a messenger from Virginia, sent to bear to Clark the con- gratulations of the Assembly. He bore also two new com- missions, one promoting Clark from Lieutenant Colonel to Colonel, and the other advancing Captain Joseph Bow- man to the rank of Major. ^ Thus ended in complete triumph one of the most mas- terly campaigns ever executed in the country. The forces engaged, it is true, were very few, but, judged by its results, it was of vast historical significance. It secured for the United States all that magnificent Northwest territory from which have been formed the present States of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin.^ It com- pletely defeated the policy embodied in the famous Quebec Act of 1774, by which England had sought to preempt this vast domain by attaching it to the Province of Que- bec, and it rendered it comparatively easy for the Ameri- can Commissioners, in the negotiation of the Peace of 1783, to include within the American Union, this region which, without Clark's conquest, would inevitably have remained a possession of England. These great results, however, as yet lay hidden among the unguessed mysteries of the future. What Clark saw, as he left Post Vincennes in charge of Captain Helm, and 1 English, "Life of George Rogers Clark," I, p. 350. 2 Also that part of Minnesota on the eastern side of the Mississippi River. Durrett's "Kentucky Centenary," p, 10. KENTUCKY'S PART IN THE REVOLUTION 97 boarded the "Willing" bound for Kaskaskia, was that there still remained two British stations, Detroit and Sandusky, the conquest of which was an essential part of his plan for securing Kentucky from Indian invasions. It was from these points, as he quite well understood, and not from Kaskaskia and Vincennes, that the Shaw- nees and their confederates, the most persistent of the savage enemies of Kentucky, drew the support and in- spiration for their border warfare; and he felt that, unless he could complete his program and add these two sta- tions to the conquest already achieved, he could not rest satisfied. As to Detroit, he chafed under the necessity of allowing it to escape him, now that Hamilton was a prisoner, and the post guarded by only about eighty regular troops. "Had I been able to raise only five hundred men when I first arrived in the country," he writes, "or when I was at St. Vincent's could I have secured my prisoners, and only have had three hundred good men, I should have attempted it." ^ But as these things were manifestly impossible of accomplishment, with the force at his dis- posal, he was obliged to abandon the idea — temporarily, as he hoped. He was shortly relieved of the civil government of the conquered region by the arrival of Captain John Todd, whom Governor Henry had appointed to govern the new country, and, having sent duplicate dispatches to Henry and Jefferson (April 29, 1779),^ describing his campaign, he set about arranging for his return to the Falls of the Ohio. 1 See Butler, p. 87. 2 Winsor's "Westward Movement," p. 136. Kentucky — 7 98 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY Upon arriving in Kentucky, Clark found that great changes had taken place during his brief year of absence. New stations had sprung up, and immigration, which for some time had been at a standstill, had begun anew, as the news of his victories in the Illinois country gave fresh confidence to men inclined to seek homes in the great West. During the year 1778 only two new settlements, in addition to Clark's little garrison on Corn Island, had appeared in Kentucky, but the renewed immigration of 1779 caused the establishment of no less than fourteen, most of which had been started before Clark reached the Falls in the autumn. At the Falls itself, Clark found that an equally aston- ishing progress had been made, of most of which he was entitled to consider himself the author. He had estab- lished the germs of a settlement on Corn Island the previous year, and a few months later, just after the cap- ture of Kaskaskia, had sent Captain William Linn to conduct home his three months' volunteers, whose terms of enlistment had expired,^ directing him also to erect a permanent fort on the Kentucky mainland, above the Falls, and to remove to it the families of Corn Island, which latter post was to be abandoned.^ A good many, perhaps a majority of the discharged troops, had gone no farther than the Falls, and Linn, in obedience to Clark's orders, had arranged for a station on the mainland. He had entrusted the task of constructing the new fortifica- tions to Richard Chenowith who, by Christmas Day, 1778, 1 Linn was also entrusted with the duty of taking Rochblave, late commander of Kaskaskia, to Williamsburg where he was to be delivered over to the Virginia authorities. Winsor's "Westward Movement," p. 120; Collins, I, p. 19; Butler, p. 64. 2 Smith, p. 120; Butler, p. 63. KENTUCKY'S PART IN THE REVOLUTION 99 had carried the work so far that a number of the families from Corn Island had celebrated the Christmas season in their new cabins, which stood at the foot of what is now Twelfth Street, Louisville.^ Then, too, during the early part of the year 1779, most of the settlers entering the Ken- tucky region had chosen the route down the Ohio, and many of them had found their way to this new estab- lishment, which rejoiced in the reputation of being the headquarters of the conqueror of the Illinois. Toward the middle of April, these latter had joined the older settlers from Corn Island in a meeting, and seven trustees had been selected, to arrange for the regular government of the town, which received the name of "Louisville," in honor of our nation's only ally, King Louis XVI of France. But to return to Indian affairs. Clark soon had enough evidence, if indeed evidence were needed, to confirm him in the conviction that Indian wars would continue until Detroit and Sandusky were captured, and the mischievous British garrisons wholly expelled from the Northwest posts. Bands of savage marauders ceaselessly traversed the forests of Kentucky County, and infested the two great highways, the Ohio River and the old Wilderness Road, causing adventures of thrilling interest, when told by the light of a camp fire within a stout palisade, but which, for the leader of the Kentucky militia, meant new cam- paigns and untold hardships. He learned the terrible details of the captivity of his gallant messenger, Simon Kenton, ^ and the story of the retreat of Colonel John Bow- 1 In the Southern Bivouac of January, 1884, Col. R. T. Durrett gives an interesting description of this first Christmas at the Falls. 2 The whole ghastly story is told in Marshall, I, pp. 74-77. It is also repro- 100 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY man, who, during the previous July, had led a gallant ex- pedition against Old Chillicothe, and had there met a total defeat, owing to his failure to give the signal of at- tack, previously agreed upon with the other commander, Captain Benjamin Logan.^ By this time, too, Kentucky was feeling the terrors of the famous hard winter of 1779, during which the rivers were completely blocked with ice for three months, and supplies became so scarce that the price of corn ranged from fifty,^ to one hundred and seventy-five dollars a ' bushel, in the depreciated Continental Currency. "The hard winter," says Trabue,^ " began about the first of No- vember, 1779, and broke up the last of February, 1780, the turkeys was almost all dead the buffaloes had got poor, peoples cattle mostly dead no corn or but very little in the country the people was in great distress many in the wil- derness frost bit some dead, some eat of the dead cattle and horses, when the winter broak the men would go and Kill the buffloes and bring them home to eat but they was so poore a number of people would be taken sick and did actually die for the want of solid food." And yet in spite of these combined miseries, the Land Commission continued to adjudicate claims, and intend- ing settlers to purchase land titles in Kentucky. The duced in detail in Smith, pp. 128-133. Kenton had escaped and returned to Kentucky only a few months before Clark's return. See Boone's "Autobiog- raphy." 1 Bowman lost eight or nine men, but succeeded in killing two famous Indian chiefs, Blackfish and Red Hawk. For details see Marshall, I, pp. 91-95, and Butler, pp. 108-110. Both these authorities give July as the month of the ex- pedition, but Collins, I, p. 19, puts it among the events of May, 1779. 2 Butler, p. 99, note. 3 Daniel Trabue's " Autobiography and Diary," Durrett MSB. KENTUCKY'S PART IN THE REVOLUTION lOl immigration of 1780 was far greater than it had ever been before. Three hundred large family boats arrived at Louisville during the first months of spring, with three thousand souls aboard; and before the season was over, six stations, containing in all some six hundred settlers, adorned the rich banks of the Beargrass; while progress was almost equally rapid in many other parts of the country.^ As the tide of immigration increased, the Virginia land surveyors, to aid its flow, laid out a new road over the Cumberland mountains, leading toward "the open country of Kentucky," so as "to give passage to pack-horses," ^ and over it, through the Wilderness Road, or down the Ohio River, population was soon pouring at a rate esti- mated at from eight to ten thousand a year. And still the mad rush for land went on. Occasionally an Indian at- tack, or the vague rumor of a coming invasion, would cause a momentary lull; a scouting party would be or- ganized and dispatched, and the heart of the wilderness would again palpitate with the Anglo-Saxon passion, the pursuit of land. Meanwhile Clark was devoting his energies to a plan, conceived as early as 1778 by Patrick Henry, and designed to strengthen the claim of the United States to a western boundary at the Mississippi, south of the Ohio.^ Henry, at that time Governor of Virginia, had felt that a strong fort near the mouth of the Ohio would probably accom- plish this result, if held by American troops when the peace negotiations with England should take place, but he had 1 Floyd's " Correspondence," quoted by Butler, p. 99, note. 2 Winsor's " Westward Movement," p. 136. 3 Pitkin's " United States," II, p. 95. 102 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY not found a time when the Virginia treasury could afford to undertake it. In April, 1780, however, Thomas Jeffer- son, who had succeeded to the office of Governor of Virginia, announced to Clark his determination to estab- lish such a fort, and ordered him forthwith to begin its construction. The project was extremely unpopular in Kentucky, where it was felt that the defence of such a post would uselessly weaken the Kentucky settlements; but Clark favored it, and declared that, if necessary, he would withdraw some of the troops from the Illinois posts in order to garrison it properly.^ As Clark designed to make this new station not only a military post but an important settlement as well, he se- lected, as its site, a point at the junction of the Ohio and the Mississippi, conveniently situated to command the trade of an extensive country on both sides of those rivers, and there, with a force of two hundred men, he erected several stout blockhouses and a fort, to which he gave the name Fort Jefferson. While engaged in the con- struction of this fort,^ Clark kept a close watch upon the Northwest, feeling certain that a British-Indian expedi- tion against the Kentucky posts would soon be set on foot by the authorities at Detroit; and, toward the end of May, 1780, he saw that the attack was imminent. He, therefore, cut short his stay at Fort Jefferson, and, with two companions, all completely disguised as Indians, made 1 Todd to Jefferson. Reprint, English's " Life of George Rogers Clark," II, p. 671. 2 In 1781, Fort Jefferson endured a prolonged siege from the Chickasaws and Choctaws, led by a renegade Scotchman named Colbert. The siege was raised by Clark himself, who appeared at the critical moment with re- inforcements and provisions. The abandonment of the station shortly fol- lowed. KENTUCKY'S PART IN THE REVOLUTION 103 his way on foot to Harrodsburg, ^ for the purpose of or- ganizing the county for defence. He even hoped to take the initiative, in case the invasion were delayed, and, by a timely expedition into the enemies' country, to prevent any attack for the present. At Harrodsburg, finding the land office the center of activity, he ordered it closed, / and proceeded to enlist troops from among its eager pa- trons. While Clark was thus occupied, the dreaded invasion came, sudden and resistless. On June 22, 1780, Colonel Byrd, an officer in the service of His Britannic Majesty, at the head of some six hundred ^ painted demons of the forest, appeared before Ruddle's Station and, by a display of cannon, forced a surrender at discretion. A similar exploit was next performed at Martin's Station, a few miles away, and it began to look as if the day for the savage reconquest of Kentucky had come.^ In truth, the invading army was so overwhelmingly powerful, that, had it been held together and intelligently handled, it might easily have swept the country; but it was, after all, an Indian army, and it acted with the caution, characteristic of the savage. Having so easily secured numerous pris- oners and a goodly pile of plunder, it declined farther to tempt fate, and hastily retired to camps beyond the Ohio."* 1 Butler, pp. 115-117, gives some interesting details of this journey. 2 Marshall, I, p. 107, says six hundred, doubtless following Boone's "Auto- biography" which gives the same figures. Collins, I, p. 20, also gives si.x hun- dred: but, in Vol. II, p. 328, raises the number to one thousand. 3 It is said (Butler, p. no, note) that this expedition had been planned to cooperate with a similar expedition which Governor Hamilton had projected, but which had been eflfectually prevented by the achievement of George Rogers Clark at Vincennes. * Collins, II, pp. 328-329, gives another explanation of the retreat. The In- dians, he says, were eager to march at once against Bryan's Station, and Lex- ington, but Colonel Byrd refused. In the "Outline History," Collins, I, p. 104 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY Clark promptly called for volunteers for a counter in- vasion, and, with the little army already enlisted, soon found himself in command of one thousand men, ready to march to the heart of the Indian country. With this force he advanced against Chillicothe, and captured it without difficulty, the Indians abandoning the town be- fore him, and fleeing for their lives. After burning houses and destroying crops, Clark pushed on to Piqua, a well built and strongly fortified town, garrisoned by sev- eral hundred Indians, under the famous renegade, Simon Girty. Here a determined resistance was offered, but Clark placed his little cannon in a position to be most effective, and soon forced the savages to abandon the town. The buildings and crops were destroyed and Colonel Benjamin Logan was sent ahead with a detach- ment to a village some twenty miles distant, to demolish the store from which the Indians had been chiefly sup- plied with arms and ammunition. This having been accomplished without resistance, the army returned to Kentucky, having spent only four weeks in an expedition which left the savages almost destitute on the verge of a hard winter, and so subdued, that no great body of Indians entered Kentucky for almost two years, although the fact that small bands continued to burn and kill, is attested by the following letter, from Colonel John Floyd to Jeffer- son, dated April, 1781.^ "We are all obliged," he writes, "to live in forts in this country and notwithstanding all the caution that we use, forty-seven inhabitants have been killed and taken prisoner 254, McCIung calls the British commander Colonel Bird and declares that "the impatience of the Indians" compelled him to retire. 1 "Virginia State Papers," II, p. 48. Quoted English's "Life of George Rogers Clark," II, p. 748. KENTUCKY'S PART IN THE REVOLUTION 105 by the savages, besides a number wounded since January last. . . . "Whole families are destroyed without regard to age or sex. Infants are torn from their mothers' arms, and their brains dashed out against trees, as they are neces- sarily moving from one fort to another for safety or con- venience. Not a week passes and some weeks scarcely a day without some of our distressed inhabitants feeling the fatal effects of the infernal rage and fury of these execrable hell-hounds." Meanwhile the Shawnee chiefs had spent some months in arranging a grand union of the Northern and West- ern tribes. They had seen, from the events of the last year, that, if the Kentuckians were ever to be expelled from their land, it must be by a union of the Indians, and must be done very soon. Accordingly, runners had been sent out in every direction, to secure the aid of the chiefs of the different tribes; while small scouting par- ties had gone into Kentucky to engage the attention of the white men, and thus prevent the discovery of their plans. A confederation of the Cherokees, Wyandots, Tawas, Pottawotomies, Delawares, Shawnees, and other tribes dwelling near the Mississippi, or the lakes, had been formed, and it had been agreed that the warriors of this formidable confederation should meet at Old Chillicothe, the following summer, (1782) and march in force through Kentucky, burning and plundering without mercy. The British authorities had also promised their aid for the invasion, confident that at last they were to be avenged for the disgrace of Vincennes.^ In the midst of these preparations came the welcome 1 Marshall, I, pp. 118, 131. Io6 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY news, that, on October 19th, 1781, Cornwallis had been forced to surrender; and the pioneers rejoiced in the thought that the long war was at an end, and indulged in the vain hope that no savage invasions would disturb them during the coming spring. They were soon unde- ceived, however, for when the spring of 1782 opened, the Indians began to put into execution their matured plans. Their attacks were even more terrific than usual, representing as they did the final eff^orts of an almost de- spairing race. Massacres followed one another in terrible succession — almost every section of the three counties adding its quota to the lists of slain. Then suddenly, about the beginning of August, the attacks abruptly ceased, and scarcely an Indian was to be seen within the whole territory of Kentucky. Fortunately the settlers were not deceived by this sudden quiet. They knew that it meant the approach of larger bands of the enemy, and it was a matter of grave uncertainty as to which post would be first attacked. Each station prepared for resistance as though it had been singled out for the first victim, and the settlers, deserting their isolated dwellings, pressed into the fortified towns. Meanwhile the whole Indian Confederation, with the British detachment, had assembled at Chillicothe, under command of Captain William Caldwell.^ Here Simon Girty, in order to stir up their fiendish passions to the utmost, delivered an eloquent address ^ to the savages, 1 Kentucky historians have generally represented Simon Girty as com- mander-in-chief both in the siege of Bryant's Station, and at the battle of Blue Licks which immediately followed; but later information shows this to be a mistake. Durrett's "Bryant's Station," p. 31. 2 Marshall, I, p. 132, summarizes the speech, and Bradford, in his " Notes on Kentucky," gives it in the first person, indicating the plaudits of the hearers. KENTUCKY'S PART IN THE REVOLUTION 1 07 reciting in vivid phrases their wrongs and injuries, re- minding them of the attacks which had lately been made upon their villages, and of the destruction of their houses and crops. He bade them recall the former beauty of their old hunting ground, now almost destroyed by the white men, and exhorted them to use this last opportunity of freeing it from the intruders. After this and similar speeches, the army of four hundred crossed the river and stealthily moved toward Bryant's Station upon the Elkhorn.^ So quiet was their approach that not a man at the station suspected their presence until next morning at daybreak, August 15, 1782,^ when the little garrison of forty-four men,^ preparing to march out of the fort on their way to assist the garri- son at Hoy's Station, heard firing near by. "All ran hastily to the picketing," says McClung, "and beheld a small party of Indians exposed to open view, firing, yel- ling and making the most furious gestures. The appear- ance was so singular and so different from their usual manner of fighting, that some of the more wary and ex- perienced of the garrison instantly pronounced it, " a de- coy." ^ It was, therefore, decided to send a few men to re- turn the fire, and thus induce the main body of the enemy, who, as it was rightly supposed, had concealed themselves on the side opposite to the decoy party, to attack the fort. Accordingly, thirteen men were sent out against the 1 Collins, I, p. 20; Butler, p. 124. Colonel Durrett, in his "Bryant's Sta- tion," pp. 33-34, examines critically the question of the number of Indians and decides in favor of "about 400." 2 For critical proof of this date (i. e., August 15th, 1782) see Durrett's "Bry- ant's Station," p. 34. 3 Bradford's "Notes on Kentucky." Durrett MSS. *McClung's "Stories of Western Adventure; " Hartley's "Boone," p. 179. I08 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY decoy party, with orders to make as much noise as possi- ble, that they might convince the main body of the enemy that all the garrison was engaged at that side. The plan was successful. As soon as the rapid firing com- menced on the far side of the fort, Caldwell and his war- riors rushed fiercely upon the western gate, but the garri- son stood coolly at their posts, and poured out such a deadly fire that the besiegers wavered, and then fled into the woods in every direction. The Indians now began the siege in the regular way; but, having no cannon, they could accomplish little against the able defence of the fort. Almost every mode of attack was tried and abandoned during the day; and, as night approached, they began to grow restless, knowing that reinforcements might arrive at any moment. In order to hasten the surrender, Girty approached the fort, and de- clared that resistance was useless, as, with the arrival of the cannon which he expected shortly, he could easily force an entrance. He promised his protection if the garri- son would surrender at once: but declared that he would not be responsible for the result, if they compelled him to let his warriors take the fort by storm. A young man named Reynolds came forward and re- plied for the garrison. He declared that they had no in- tention of surrendering, and that "they also expected re- inforcements; that the whole country was marching to their assistance; that if Girty and his gang of murderers remained twenty-four hours longer before the fort, their scalps would be found drying in the sun upon the roofs of their cabins." ^ Girty at once retired, and in the morning the Indian 1 McClung, quoted by Hartley's "Boone," p. 187. KENTUCKY'S PART IN THE REVOLUTION 109 camp was entirely deserted. In a siege of several days they had killed but four men, while they had lost seven or eight times that number. For this reason they had de- cided to change their position, in the hope of gaining some advantage, conscious of the fact that no Kentucky station had as yet been taken without the aid of cannon. They followed an old buffalo path which led to the lower Blue Licks, and were evidently desirous of being pursued, as they left a plain trail behind them, marking the trees with their tomahawks, as they went along. Meanwhile the news, that Bryant's Station was be- sieged by a powerful force, had attracted reinforcements from all sides, and, before the next night, one hundred and eighty-one horsemen were assembled, under the command of the most prominent leaders in the district.^ A council was held, and it was decided to start immediately in pur- suit of the Indians, without waiting for the arrival of Colonel Logan who was known to be approaching with a force of three hundred men. All along the path which the enemy had taken, were ostentatious signs of a disorderly retreat, which Boone and some of the more experienced of his companions pro- nounced "danger signs," the evident intention of the In- dians being to deceive their pursuers as to their strength, and thus lead them to make a hasty and unguarded at- tack. As they came within sight of the Licking River, and of a few leisurely retreating Indians, there was a wild desire on the part of some of the men to attack at once. In vain Boone cautioned them against such a course, de- ^ Boone's letter to Governor Harrison, August 30, 1782. Reprint, Hartley's "Boone," pp. 200-203, ^"so Marshall, I, p. 136, and Butler, p. 125. In this letter Boone declared that almost one-third of the whole force thus assembled, was composed of commissioned oflScers. Hartley's " Boone," p. 190. no KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY daring that the enemy were undoubtedly very strong and thoroughly prepared for battle. He urged that, if they were determined upon an attack before Logan's forces should join them, it should at least be made with due caution to avoid an ambuscade. At this point Major McGary dashed into the river calling out, "Those who are not cowards, follow me; I will show them where the Indians are," and, at the challenge, the whole party dashed after him and attacked the , Indians with great spirit, but with no order or system. The savages retreated until they reached a spot where the ridge which they had followed was cut by two ravines, one on each side of the path, the very point against which Boone had warned his comrades. In these ravines were concealed the entire savage army, who, finding that their enemy were at last in their power, opened a fire which thinned the ranks of the white men, and caused a mad panic. Before the terrified Kentuckians could draw back, the Indians had extended their lines so as completely to surround them, and the retreat became a race for life. Boone, after seeing his son slain before his face, at- tempted to gain the ford, but the way was blocked by several hundred of the enemy. Returning, therefore, to the ravine which the Indians had left, he followed it to the river, which he crossed just below the ford, in company with a few companions, and, by a circuitous path, soon reached Bryant's Station. The ford was the scene of a fierce struggle, and few, ex- cept the horsemen, would have escaped but for the heroic manner in which Netherland, who had previously been looked upon as a coward, rallied a small band of his com- rades who had already crossed, and checked the enemy KENTUCKY'S PART IN THE REVOLUTION 1 1 1 for a few moments, thus giving his friends an opportunity to get over. Although the Indians soon effected a crossing, and continued the pursuit for tw^enty miles, it was with little success, as the routed army had taken to the woods, each man following the pathway of his own choosing. As the fugitives straggled into camp they met Colo- nel Logan, advancing with his detachment of three hun- dred men, which, but for the foolish daring of Major McGary, might have made the battle of Blue Licks a vic- tory, instead of the most disastrous defeat of pioneer times. As the news of this catastrophe spread through Ken- tucky, there arose a feeling of general discouragement. So many disasters, in such rapid succession, could but cast a gloom over the country; and men began to feel that, un- less relief should speedily be secured, they must give up all hope of maintaining their settlements. Boone, in his letter to Governor Harrison, voiced this sentiment in the following words: "I have encouraged the people in this country all that I could; but I can no longer justify them or myself to risk our lives here under such extraordinary hazards. The inhabitants . . . are very much alarmed at the thoughts of the Indians bringing another campaign into our country this fall. If this should be the case, it will break up these settlements." ^ But even before Boone's complaint had been dispatched, Clark had sent forth his call for renewed battle, and terror and despair were forgotten, as pioneers from every point in the three counties flocked to his banner, thirst- ing for the vengeance which the leader had so often shown himself able to procure for them; and when the 1 Boone to Benjamin Harrison, August 30, 1782. Durrett MSS. 112 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY final muster roll was called at the mouth of the Licking, over one thousand soldiers answered to their names. Early in November, 1782, ^ they moved forward, crossed the Ohio, and " surprised the principal Shawnee town on the evening of the loth, immediately detaching strong parties to different quarters. In a few hours two-thirds of the town was laid in ashes, and everything they were possessed of, destroyed, except such articles as might be useful to the troops. The enemy had no time to secrete any part of their property which was in the town. "The British trading post at the head of the Miami, the carrying place to the waters of the lake, shared the same fate, at the hands of a party of one hundred and fifty horse, commanded by Colonel Benjamin Logan. The property destroyed was of great amount, and the quan- tity of provisions burned surpassed all idea we had of the Indian stores. "The loss of the enemy was ten scalps, seven prisoners, two whites retaken. Ours was one killed and one wounded. After lying part of four days in their towns and finding all attempts to bring the enemy to a general action fruitless, we retired, as the season was far advanced and the winter threatening." Such is the simple narrative in which Clark reported to Governor Harrison of Virginia, the result of this expe- dition which "ended forever all formidable Indian inva- sions of Kentucky." The remainder of the year was quiet, as the Indians removed even their scouts and plundering parties from 1 Marshall, I, p. 147, gives September and is followed by Butler, p. 131. Collins, I, p. 20, puts the expedition in November, 1782. The present account is based chieQy upon Clark's letter to Governor Benjamin Harrison, dated November 37, 1782, and reprinted in English's "Clark," II, p. 760. KENTUCKY'S PART IN THE REVOLUTION 113 Kentucky, and, a few months later (spring of 1783), travelers brought the joyful news that a provisional treaty of peace had been signed between America and England on November 30, 1782. It was not, indeed, until April nth of the following year that a proclamation was issued by the authority of Congress, declaring a cessation of hostilities between the two countries, and not until Sep- tember 3d, 1783, that the formal and definitive treaty was signed at Paris: but the British had lost hope of conquer- ing the rebels long before; and Independence had been felt to be an assured fact as soon as the news of Corn- wallis' surrender at Yorktown (October 19, 1781) was re- ceived. Even the treaty of peace, however, did not mean peace for Kentucky. The British held a number of the North- west posts long after the Treaty of Paris was signed, and continued to rouse the Indians to attacks upon the Amer- ican frontier: but the great war period of Kentucky his- tory had closed with Clark's last expedition into the Indian country, and the future struggles take the form largely of personal adventures, and in no instance again assume the dignity of real warfare. The Indian power in Kentucky had been subdued, by the manly courage of the settlers, under the leadership of Clark and Boone, and in the proc- ess of vanquishing the enemy, the people had, all uncon- sciously, produced a State. Kentucky — 8 CHAPTER IV KENTUCKY ENTERS THE UNION When the news of the Peace of Paris reached Kentucky, some six months after it was signed, it was generally sup- posed that Indian hostilities would cease; but the fail- ure, on the part of each country, faithfully to observe its pledges caused an increase in the attacks upon the frontier. The savages, as allies of the British, had of course no justification for continuing hostilities; but they had never had any adequate conception of the nature and conse- quences of the contest, and, not having themselves been conquered in most sections of the country, they could not understand how they could have been conquered "abroad by proxy." ^ The British officers and soldiers garrisoned in the Northwest posts, which, upon various pretexts, were not surrendered according to the terms of the treaty of peace, encouraged rather than discountenanced this attitude, and Congress, in this as in most other matters, was impotent. France and Spain, also, secretly rejoiced at these devas- tations, their aid having been given to the Americans, dur- ing the war, solely from a desire to injure England. While the negotiations of the peace were in progress, they had secretly combined to limit the boundary of the United States by the Alleghanies, or at most by the Ohio: and, but for the fact that John Jay had discovered their de- 1 Littell's "Political Transactions in and Concerning Kentucky," pp. 9, 10. "4 KENTUCKY ENTERS THE UNION 115 signs,^ they might easily have succeeded, as Congress, in a moment of bhnd gratitude for the aid and countenance which France had given her, had instructed her com- missioners to "undertake nothing in the negotiations for peace or truce without their knowledge and concurrence," (referring to the French Court), and "ultimately to govern yourselves by their advice and opinion," Once discovered, the scheme had been easily defeated by our commissioners, and the final result was an unconditional acknowledg- ment of the independence of the United States, and the settlement of a boundary as ample as the needs of the States required. But this outcome did not tend to produce, in the minds / of the disappointed French and Spanish allies, a love for i' the new Republic, and, for years to come, secret agents, of the one or the other nation, were almost constantly employed with schemes for detaching the West, and par- ticularly the rich Kentucky district, from her control. Early in 1784 there appeared in Lexington, as the chief agent of a great trading company just organized in Phila- delphia, General James Wilkinson, whose life from this time is closely connected with the history of Kentucky's struggle for separation from Virginia. Though he came as an agent, he came as a citizen also, and, from the first, identified himself with the district. For a man of his ability and eminence to settle in this new country, was in itself flattering, for he had been a distinguished leader in the Revolution, and had been made Brigadier General , on account of valuable service at Saratoga. Besides this ' fact, which alone would have sufficed to make him a marked man among the simple hunters of Kentucky, he 1 Fiske's " Critical Period," p. 22. Il6 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY was an eloquent speaker, a clear thinker, and a man of more than ordinary attainments, even for the older States. Mr. Marshall thus describes him: ^ — "A person not quite tall enough to be perfectly elegant, compensated by its sym- metry and appearance of health and strength. A counte- M nance open, mild, capacious, and beaming with intelli- gence; a gait firm, manly, and facile; manners bland, accommodating, and popular; an address easy, polite and gracious, invited approach, gave access, assured attention, cordiality and ease." As to what his character was, there is great uncertainty. Some of his biographers depict him as an arch traitor, while others declare him to have been a man of the highest honor and patriotism. But, whatever his motives, it is certain that no man was more thoroughly identified with Kentucky's struggle for independence. As the District of Kentucky grew more populous, it was natural that a desire should spring up, on the part of her leading men, for a government where their counsels might have more force, and where the needs of the Dis- trict might be better realized than they could be, while the laws were passed at Richmond, which, under the V conditions of travel then prevailing, was a very long dis- tance away.^ All that was needed, therefore, was a pretext for asking the Assembly of Virginia to grant them inde- pendence, and this pretext soon presented itself, in the form of a military necessity. In 1784, Colonel Benjamin Logan discovered that the Cherokee tribes were planning a great invasion against 1 Marshall, 1824 Ed., I, p. 165. 2 See "The Wilderness Road," in Filson Club Publications, by Captain Thomas Speed. I KENTUCKY ENTERS THE UNION 117 the southern frontier of Kentucky, and that a similar move was being arranged against her northern settlements. He accordingly called a general meeting at Danville, and laid before it the information which he had received, asking for a discussion and action upon the question of how the attacks could be most successfully combated. The opinion was general that the best way to meet the threat- ened danger was to prepare a military expedition and at- tack the Indians, before they could complete their plans of invasion. But, upon further investigation, it was found that, as there was no declared state of war, "No man or set of men in the District was invested with authority to call the militia into service" for offensive measures.^ This discovery put an end to the proposed expedition, which in this particular instance was fortunate, as the expected invasions did not occur. It proved to the people, how- ever, how helpless was their position in case of pressing need; while discussion and investigation showed that the District was in every way, save in law, competent to con- duct her own military operations. They therefore decided to request the Assembly of Virginia to pass an act, ena- bling the District of Kentucky to organize as a State, and to enter the Union, if accepted by the Confederation.^ In the actions of this first convention, as in all that follow, we see a profound respect and reverence for law. Realizing that they had no authority to make such a re- 1 Littell's "Political Transactions in and Concerning Kentucky," p. 15. 2 This was no new idea even then. On May 15th, 178c, a memorial, signed by 672 inhabitants of the "Counties of Kaintuckey and Illinois," had been sent to Congress, begging "that the Continental Congress will take Proper Methods to form us into a Separate State." The manuscript is No. 48, of the series of papers of the old Congress preserved in the State Department at Washington. Quoted, Brown's "Political Beginnings of Kentucky," p. 59. '-'^ Il8 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY quest, they published a recommendation that, on a certain day, each mihtary company in the District should elect one representative, and that these representatives should meet at Danville, on December 27, 1784, to "devise if possible some means of preserving their country from that immediate destruction which seemed then impending." ^ The suggestion w2ls v^ell received, and on the proposed day, the representatives met at Danville, formed them- selves into a deliberative assembly and proceeded at once to business.^ There v^ere a number of spectators present, who listened with interest to the prolonged debate upon the advisability of a separation from Virginia, and, al- though there was considerable difference of opinion upon that question, there was a unanimous desire manifested that, whatever was done should be done in strict accord- ance with the laws of the parent State. A large majority favored the plan of petitioning the Assembly of Virginia, and, through it. Congress, for the passage of an act by which Kentucky might become an independent member of the Confederacy. They felt, however, that, as this had not been clearly and specifically proposed in the recom- mendation which had caused their election, they had not the authority to take so decided a step. They therefore contented themselves with passing a resolution earnestly recommending that the people of Kentucky, at the next regular election of delegates to the Virginia Legislature, should choose representatives, who should meet in the following May, with full power to petition the Assembly 1 Littell's "Political Transactions," p. 16. See also "Appendix," p. i, for date, etc. 2 The earliest known copy of the Minutes are given in "Lettres d'un Cultivateur Americain — De Creve Coeur a Paris — 1787," Tome, III, pp. 438-440. KENTUCKY ENTERS THE UNION 119 of Virginia for an act of separation,^ and, through it, to petition Congress for admission into the Confederation. Accordingly, on the 23rd of May, 1785, the "Second Assembly of Kentucky" met at Danville and drew up the following five resolutions:- " I. Resolved (unanimously), as the opinion of this con- vention, That a petition be presented to the Assembly, praying that this District may be established into a State, separate from Virginia. "2. Resolved (unanimously), as the opinion of this con- vention. That this District, when established into a State, ought to be taken into the Union with the United States of America; and enjoy equal privileges in common with the said States. "3. Resolved, That this Convention recommend it to their constituents, to elect deputies in their respective counties, to meet at Danville on the second Monday of August next, to serve in convention, and to continue by adjournment till the first day of April next, to take further under their consideration the state of the Dis- trict. "4. Resolved (unanimously): That the election of the deputies for the proposed convention, ought to be on the principle of ' equal representation.' "5. Resolved: That the petition to the Assembly for establishing this District into a State, and the several resolves of the former and present Conventions, upon which the petition is founded, together with all other mat- ters relative to the interest of the District, that have been 1 The Constitution of Virginia had made provision for the erection of one or more governments in the Western territory when occasion might require. Lit- tell's "Political Transactions," p. 15. 2 Marshall, 1824 Ed., I, p. 196. 120 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY under their consideration, be referred to the future con- vention, that such further measures may be taken thereon as they shall judge proper." ^ The "Second Assembly of Kentucky" thus signally failed to accomplish the object of its meeting, in that it refused to take the final step, and make application for the desired separation, although it had been elected for that specific purpose, and a feeling of uneasiness and impa- tience began to manifest itself in the community, due not only to the failure of the convention to do its duty, but also to the unfortunate impression which the Confedera- tion was making upon the people of the District. They were coming to realize, more fully each day, the utter im- becility of the central government, which either could not, or would not, protect them from the dangers incident upon the British possession of the posts in the Northwest; and vague rumors were being circulated, to the efi^ect that Congress was on the point of abandoning all claim to the navigation of the Mississippi, for twenty-five years; ^ which act they knew would destroy for them all chance of com- mercial prosperity. They realized that they could not trade, with either safety or profit, if they had to carry their goods overland to and from the eastern States, as the country lying between was wild and mountainous, and the passes were beset with bands of savages. It was at this point that the feeling first arose that, if the Confederation could do no better than this for her struggling frontier colony, it would be far better to cut themselves off entirely from the central government and 1 Extracts from the "Journal." Cf. Littell's "Political Transactions," Ap- pendix, I. 2 Woodrow Wilson's "History of the American People," III, p. 51, for de- tails of this report. I KENTUCKY ENTERS THE UNION 121 its control; and, although this idea had not yet become very general, it afforded a plausible basis for the agents of Spain to work upon. Having provided for another Assembly ^ upon which to place the responsibility for action, if anything was to be done, the "Second Assembly" adopted two addresses, one "To the Honorable General Assembly of Virginia," and the other "To the Inhabitants of the District of Ken- tucky." ^ The author of those two addresses cannot be positively ascertained, but it seems probable that in them we have the first work of General James Wilkinson, as their tone, and the extreme manner in which they are drawn up, agree very closely with some later work of the same nature which can with certainty be assigned to his pen. Although he was not a member of this Assembly, his talents were, by this time, very well recognized throughout the District, and Marshall thinks that the author was not a member of the convention.^ The address to the Assembly of Virginia was never de- livered, this task being left for the next Assembly, which refused to perform it. It expressed the desire for separa- tion from Virginia, and for admission into the Union of States. The address to the "Inhabitants of the District of Ken- tucky," however, is of more importance, as it was widely circulated and had the effect of stirring up discussion upon the subject of separation, and of increasing the desire to hasten that result. It also gives us a concise view of 1 Littell's "Political Transactions," p. 18, and "Appendix," p. 6. 2 Full texts given in Marshall, 1824 Ed., I, pp. 200-202, and also in Littell's "Political Transactions," Appendix, p. 2. 3 Marshall, 1824 Ed., I, p. 206. 122 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY the political and social conditions of the District at this time. "Friends and Fellow Citizens: We, your representatives, met in convention in consequence of your appointment, beg leave to address you on a subject which we consider of the last importance to you, to ourselves, and to unborn pos- terity. " In every case when it becomes necessary for one part of the community to separate from the other; duty to Al- mighty God and a decent respect for the opinions of man- kind require that the causes which impel them thereto should be clearly and impartially set forth. "We hold it as a self evident truth that the government is ordered for the ease and protection of the governed: and whenever these ends are not attained, by one form of government, it is the right, it is the duty, of the people to seek such other mode as will be likely to insure to them- selves and to their posterity those blessings to which, by nature, they are entitled. "In the course of our enquiries, we find that several laws have passed the Legislature of Virginia, which, al- though of a general nature, yet in their operation are particularly oppressive to the people of this district; and we also find that, from our local situation, we are deprived of many benefits of government which every citizen therein has a right to expect; as a few facts will sufl&ciently demon- strate. " I . We have no power to call out the militia, our sure and only defence, to oppose the wicked machinations of the savages, unless in case of actual invasion. "2. We have no executive power in the District, either to enforce the execution of laws, or to grant pardons to KENTUCKY ENTERS THE UNION 123 objects of mercy; because such a power would be incon- sistent with the poHcy of the government, and contrary to the present constitution. "3. We are ignorant of the laws that are passed until a long time after they are enacted, and in many instances until they have expired: by means whereof penalties may be inflicted for offences never designed, and delinquents escape the punishment due to their crimes. "4. We are subjected to prosecute suits in the High Courts of Appeals at Richmond, under every disadvantage for the want of evidence, want of friends, and want of money. "5. Our money must necessarily be drawn from us, not only for the support of the civil government, but by in- dividuals who are frequently under the necessity of at- tending on the same. "6. Nor is it possible for the inhabitants of this Dis- trict, at so remote a distance from the seat of government, ever to derive equal benefits with citizens in the Eastern parts of the State; and this inconvenience must increase as our country becomes more populous. "7. Our commercial interest can never correspond with or be regulated by theirs, and in case of any invasion, the State of Virginia can afford us no adequate protection, in comparison with the advantages we might (if a separate State) derive from the Federal Union. "On maturely considering truths of such great impor- tance to every inhabitant of the District, with a firm per- suasion that we are consulting the general good of our infant country, we have unanimously resolved, That it is expedient and necessary for this District to be separated from Virginia and estabhshed into a sovereign, independ- 124 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY ent State, to be known by the name of the 'Common- wealth of Kentucky/ and taken into union with the United States of America. *' In order to effect this purpose we have agreed on a petition to be presented ^ to the Legislature of Virginia at their next session, praying that a separation may take place; in which petition are fully set forth such terms as we thought beneficial to our infant country, and not in- consistent for Virginia to grant. "It is generally admitted that this District ought, at some period not far distant, to be separated from the government of Virginia. "The only question then, is, whether we are now, of sufficient abihty, either to fill the different offices of gov- ernment, or provide for its support ? In answer to the first part of this objection, examples have taught us, that sound principles and plain sense suffice for every laudable purpose of government; and we generally find that the liberty of the subject and the laws of the land, are in the highest reverence, at the foundation and rise of States, before the morals of the people have been vitiated by wealth and licentiousness and their understandings en- tangled in visionary refinements and chimerical distinc- tions: and as to the latter part, we have now in our power several valuable funds, which, if by procrastination we suffer to be exhausted, we shall be stripped of every re- source but internal taxation, and that under every disad- vantage : and therefore we do not hesitate to pronounce it as our opinion, that the present is preferable to any future period. 1 The delivery of this petition was, however, to be left to the next Assembly. See Resolution No. 5, ante. KENTUCKY ENTERS THE UNION 125 " By an act of the last session of the Assembly, we find that the revenue law is now fully and immediately to be enforced within the District, so that we shall not only pay a very considerable part of the tax for supporting the civil government of the State, but also be obliged to sup- port our supreme court, and every other office we need in the District, at our own charge; and we are of the opin- ion, that the additional expense of the salaries to a gover- nor, council, treasurer and delegates to Congress, will, for a number of years, be more than saved out of the funds before alluded to, without any additional tax on the people." Having accomplished the passage of these resolutions and addresses, the "Second Assembly" adjourned, and the people anxiously awaited the time for electing dele- gates to the "Third Assembly," confident that the thirty representatives, who were to compose it, would finally settle the great question of separation. The election came in July, and in the following August the new delegates arrived at Danville, among those from Fayette County being General James Wilkinson. This seems to have been his first appearance, as a member, in the councils of the District, though, from this time for- ward, he stands as their most prominent figure. The first business to come before the Assembly was a consideration of the papers and recommendations which the "Second Assembly" had committed to them. These were debated at length in the Committee of the Whole, and a report was delivered to the Assembly by Mr. Muter. The report states that Kentucky, by virtue of her isolation, can never hope to be properly governed while the present connection with Virginia is maintained, and proceeds to 126 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S fflSTORY give a list of grievances, the same, in substance, as those in the above-quoted " Address to the People," declaring, at the same time, that these grievances are due, not to any evil intention on the part of Virginia, but to the unnatural and useless legal subordination of the District to the State. It closes thus: "Whereas all men are born equally free and inde- pendent, and have certain natural, inherent and inalien- able rights; among which are the enjoying and defending life and liberty, acquiring, possessing and protecting prop- erty, and pursuing and obtaining happiness and safety: Therefore, ''Resolved, That it is the indispensable duty of this convention, as they regard the prosperity and happiness of their constituents, themselves and posterity, to make application to the General Assembly, at the ensuing ses- sion, for an act to separate this District from the present government forever, on terms honorable to both and in- jurious to neither; in order that it may enjoy all the ad- vantages, privileges and immunities of a free, sovereign and independent republic." This report was unanimously adopted by the Assem- bly, who further proceeded to draw up and adopt two addresses, one to the Assembly of Virginia, and one to the inhabitants of the District of Kentucky. As the work of this convention succeeded in securing the consent of Vir- ginia to the proposed separation, though the conditions upon which it was to be granted were not fulfilled for years, I quote, in part, the first of these addresses. "Gentlemen: The subscribers, resident in the Counties of Jefferson, Fayette, Lincoln and Nelson, comprising the District of Kentucky, being chosen at free elections held KENTUCKY ENTERS THE UNION 127 in these counties respectively by the freemen of the same, for the purpose of constituting a convention, to take into consideration the general state of the District, and ex- pressly to decide on the expediency of making application to your honorable body, for an act of separation — deeply impressed with the importance of the measure, and breath- ing the purest filial affection, beg leave to address you on this momentous occasion. "The settlers of this distant region, taught by the ar- rangements of Providence, and encouraged by the con- ditions of that solemn compact for which they paid the price of blood, to look forward to a separation from the Eastern part of the Commonwealth; have viewed the sub- ject leisurely at a distance and examined it with caution on its near approach: — irreconcilable as has been their situation to a connection with any community beyond the Appalachian Mountains, other than the Federal Union; manifold as have been the grievances flowing therefrom, which have grown with their growth and increased with their population; they have patiently waited the hour of redress, nor even ventured to raise their voices in their own cause until youth quickening into manhood, hath given them vigor and stability. "To recite minutely the causes and reasoning which have directed and will justify this address, would we conceive, be a matter of impropriety at this juncture. It would be preposterous for us to enter upon the support of facts and consequences which, we presume, are incontrovertible; our sequestered situation from the seat of government, with the intervention of a mountainous desert of two hun- dred miles, always dangerous, and passable only at par- ticular seasons, precludes every idea of a connection on 1 28 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY republican principles. The patriots who formed our con- stitution, sensible of the impracticability of connecting permanently in a free government the extensive limits of the commonwealth, most wisely made provision for the act which we now solicit, "To that sacred record we appeal . . . and, by the authority of our constituents, after the most solemn de- liberation, being warned of every consequence which can ensue, for them, for ourselves, and for posterity unborn, do pray that an act may pass at the ensuing session of Assembly, declaring and acknowledging the sovereignty and independence of this District. . . ." ^ A comparison of this production with the one already quoted shows a striking similarity of style and spirit, which seems to justify the assumption that the author was the same. In this article, however, the real spirit of Wil- kinson is somewhat concealed, as he is addressing a body whose members are not supposed to be easily swayed by passion and extreme statements, while, in the "Address to the Inhabitants of the District," quoted above, he had allowed the intensity of his views to be clearly seen. In order to give more dignity and force to the "Address to the Virginia Assembly," the Chief Justice of the Dis- trict, George Muter, and the District Attorney, General Innis, were appointed to present it, and to offer their personal support toward securing its passage. They ar- rived at Richmond in November (1785), and laid the matter before the General Assembly, offering such defence and explanation as the case seemed to demand. 1 " Political Beginnings of Kentucky," by John Mason Brown, Appendix II; Marshall's " History of Kentucky," 1882, Ed., I, pp. 210, 212; Littell's " Po- litical Transactions," Appendix, p. 11. KENTUCKY ENTERS THE UNION 129 The Assembly received the petition with great kindness and Hberality, and at once passed an act which is now known as the "First Enabling Act." ^ It refers at first to the petition, and to the expediency of making such a change, on account of the remoteness of the better parts of the District from the seat of government. It then de- clares that, "The free male inhabitants," of each of the seven counties of the District, shall elect representatives on their "respective court days," during the next August; that these representatives shall meet at Danville, on the fourth Monday in September, and decide whether or not it is expedient and the will of the people to become an in- dependent State upon the following conditions: ^ that the boundary between the proposed State and the State of Virginia remain the same as at present; that the proposed State assume a proportion of the public debt of Virginia; that private rights and land interests within the said Dis- trict, derived from the laws of Virginia prior to such sepa- ration, remain secure under the laws of the proposed State; that equal taxation and equal security for the prop- erty of residents and nonresidents of the District be in- sured; that all land titles made by Virginia and surveyed prior to 1788 be made valid and sound; that those tracts of land which Virginia has retained as rewards for service, etc., be reserved for her use until September, 1788, and no longer; that the Ohio be open to the free navigation of 1 Found in 12 Hening's "Statutes at Large," p. 37, and entitled, "An act concerning the erection of the District of Kentucky into an Independent State," passed January 6, 1786, Senate, January 10, 1786. The chief extracts from the proceedings of this Assembly are give in Appendix II, of Brown's "Political Be- ginnings of Kentucky." 2 A reprint of these conditions will be found in Marshall, 1824 Ed., I, pp. 223- 224. Kentucky — 9 130 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY all citizens of the United States, and that disputes which may arise between Virginia and the proposed State con- cerning the meaning or execution of the foregoing articles be submitted to arbitration. The bill provides also that, in case the proposed con- vention shall decide in favor of separation upon these conditions, it shall fix a date (prior to September i, 1787), when Virginia's authority over the District of Kentuck) shall cease; but this only in case Congress shall (prior t< June I, 1787) relieve Virginia from her Federal obliga tions, relative to this District, and shall admit the latte as a State into the Federal Union. These conditions appear fair enough, but they requirec delay, and delay did not suit the extreme party who ha< controlled the last Assembly, and who were eager for th immediate declaration of independence, which would giv them a chance at pronounced leadership. Foremos among these was Wilkinson, and, in the elections which oc curred in the summer of 1786 for the "Fourth Assembly,' he became a candidate. He did not hesitate to express hi desire for an immediate declaration of independence, and though he roused great opposition by his extreme views he was elected a delegate from Fayette County, by frau( his enemies declared. In the meantime the Indians having become ver troublesome, two expeditions had been organized, on under Clark against the Wabash tribes, the other unde Logan against the Shawnees; and so many of the member of the coming convention had taken service in these expedi tions, that, when the day came for its assembling, "a num ber sufficient to proceed to business could not be had." ^ 1 Littell's "Political Transactions," p. 21. KENTUCKY ENTERS THE UNION 13 1 The minority which did assemble chose John Marshall (afterwards the "Great Chief Justice" of the United States), as their agent to present to the Virginia Assembly a memorial, stating their unfortunate situation, and asking for a modification of the conditions of separation which could not now be fulfilled.^ This irregular request was granted, and a " Second Enabling Act " ^ was passed, con- tinuing the assent to the separation, but requiring the convention to be reelected during the following August (1787); postponing the operation of the act of separation until January, 1789, and fixing July 4, 1788, as the date prior to which Congress should consent to receive Ken- tucky into the Union. Thus again was the object of Kentucky's desire denied her. She had started the struggle for independence in 1784. It was now impossible to secure it before 1789; and yet the majority of the people submitted patiently, thinking that it was better to act slowly, rather than to violate the law, in order to gain the independence for which they longed. In January, 1787, the Fourth Assembly finally suc- ceeded in getting together its quorum, only to discover that it had been deprived of all authority by the change in the conditions which the Assembly of Virginia had just made. Realizing that they had no power to proceed, they disbanded in anger, and scattered to their respective coun- ties, spreading discontent and impatience throughout the entire District. Wilkinson, in particular, more boldly than ever, ad- 1 Littell's "Political Transactions," Appendix, contains John Marshall's letter reporting upon the matter. 2 Passed January 10, 1787. Text, 12 Hening's "Statutes at Large," p. 240. 132 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY vised, "an immediate declaration of independence," re- gardless of the consequences. He declared that the coun- try was in no condition to wait; that it needed liberty, and was perfectly competent to maintain an independent gov- ernment. He appealed to the Indian outrages to which they were exposed without any means of defence, and did all in his power to break down the general and firm respect for law which pervaded the community. By degrees also rumors relative to the navigation of the Mississippi began to be circulated. A number of gentlemen in Pittsburg, calling themselves a "Committee of Correspondence," sent a written communication, to the people of Kentucky, declaring that John Jay, the Amer- ican Secretary of Foreign Affairs, had made a proposition to Don Gardoqui, the Spanish minister, to cede to Spain for twenty-five years, the navigation of the Mississippi River, in consideration of certain commercial advantages to be enjoyed by the Eastern States alone. This was at once seized upon by Wilkinson and his party, and converted into a charge against Congress whereas it was really only a proposition which had been made and rejected.^ Indeed, Congress had expressly or- dered the Secretary of Foreign AflFairs to, "stipulate both for the territory of the United States," as recognized in the treaty with England, and for the navigation of the Mississippi from its source to the ocean. The Spanish 1 John Marshall wrote concerning this subject: "The negotiation which has' been opened with Spain for ceding the navigation of the Mississippi — a negotia- tion so dishonorable and injurious to America, so destructive of the natural rights of the western world — is warmly opposed by this country, and for this purpose the most pointed instructions are given to our delegates in Congress (i. e., Virginia). I persuade myself that this negotiation will terminate in se- curing instead of ceding that great point." Littell's "Political Transactions," Appendix VIII, p. 21. I KENTUCKY ENTERS THE UNION 133 minister having declared that Spain would never permit any nation to use that river, both banks of which be- longed to her, Mr. Jay had reported this statement to Congress, and had also informed that body, "that Spain was ready to grant to the United States extensive and valua- ble commercial privileges, and that it was in her power, by her influence with the Barbary States and, by her connec- tion with France and Portugal, greatly to injure the com- merce of America, and to benefit that of England, but that, at present, the questions respecting the Mississippi and territorial limits prevented any commercial arrangements whatever." In view of which facts, he recommended a treaty with Spain, limited to "twenty or thirty years, and abandoning, during that period, all claim to the navigation of the Mississippi below their Southern boundary line." His view was based on the false idea that we would have no special need to use the river for the next twenty or thirty years. On receiving this warning from Pittsburg, Messrs. Muter, Innis, Brown and Sebastian sent out a circular letter^ (dated March 29, 1787), calling on the people of Kentucky to elect representatives to meet at Danville on the first Monday in May, to take action against such an outrage. They readily complied, but, before the dele- gates had assembled, the matter came to be better un- derstood, and the convention, without any action upon it, adjourned. When it became generally known that Con- gress had refused to accept Jay's proposition, the intense excitement gradually died down, although there can be lit- ^ Full text given in (a) Littell's "Political Transactions," Appendix VIII; (b) Brown's "Political Beginnings of Kentucky," Appendix No. 4, and (c) Marshall, I, p. 259. 134 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY tie doubt that it resulted in deepening the prejudice of many against a union where such a proposition could even be considered. This prejudice, moreover, was greatly in- creased by the extraordinary action of the Virginia Execu- tive in censuring General Clark and General Logan for the military expeditions against the Wabash and Shawnee In- dians, which they had recently conducted with the consent of the county lieutenants.^ It was bad enough, the Ken- tuckians reasoned, to be left unprotected by the parent State, but to be censured for necessary acts of war was unbearable. Why should they not, argued the more ex- treme of them, secure their independence, make their own terms with Spain concerning the navigation of the Missis- sippi, and remain an independent and sovereign State ^ For this view, an able and energetic advocate was found in Wilkinson. He had used all of his talents, and most of his money, in securing personal and political friends, and, when the time came for electing delegates for the Fifth As- sembly, which was to meet on September 17, 1787, he ap- peared as a candidate, and was elected. But when the delegates assembled at Danville, Wilkinson was missing. The Assembly opened its session and proceeded to consider the question before them (that of separation from Vir- ginia), quietly and with a unanimity hitherto unknown. Wilkinson, wishing to illustrate, by concrete example, the wisdom of his proposition, and also to secure money, of which he was greatly in need, had started upon a journey to New Orleans, for the purpose of trading with the Span- iards. For several months, nothing was heard of him, but when, at the end of that period, he again appeared in the District of Kentucky, it was in a chariot drawn by four 1 Littell's "Political Transactions," pp. 21-25. KENTUCKY ENTERS THE UNION 135 horses, with a long retinue of slaves and a curious private trading treaty, which gave him the right to export all the productions of Kentucky, free of duty, and an offer, on be- half of the Spanish government, of nine dollars and fifty cents a hundred for tobacco, for which the Kentuckians were then receiving only two dollars. He was received, by his friends, as an ambassador, who had, by his own private efforts, gained greater concessions from Spain than the whole Federal Union had been able to secure; ^ but his enemies, with good reason, questioned the honesty of such a transaction, and looked upon Wil- kinson as a hired agent of Spain. He had accomplished his design, but, in so doing, he had exposed himself to at- tack; and, though his tracks were so well covered ' that nothing could ever be proved against him, he seems to have gone a little farther than most men were willing to go. The party of which Wilkinson was leader, and upon which this reckless venture cast great discredit, was known as the Court party, on account of the fact that the leaders. Brown, Sebastian and Innis, were all members of the Su- preme Court of the District. Their scheme was, " a decla- ration of independence, an immediate organization of gov- ernment, a treaty with Spain for the navigation of the Mississippi, and a connection with the United States, or not, according to circumstances and contingencies." ^ In 1 Marshall, 1824 Ed., I, pp. 270-283. 2 See "Lexington Reporter," March 14, 1803. 3 It would be grossly unjust to judge of secession plans of that generation by standards of later days. National patriotism, so vigorous during the Revo- lution, had failed to attach itself to the government under the Articles of Con- federation. The real enthusiasm was everywhere given to the state governments, which alone touched the life of the individual. See, for example, the history of the "Essex Junto," and their plan for an Eastern Confederacy, described in "Schouler," II, pp. 60 et seq. 136 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY opposition to this party and its principles, stood the "Coun- try party," loyal, and determined to preserve the integrity of the United States by a legal and constitutional separa- tion, and admission into the Union, in any manner recom- mended by Congress. Meanwhile, the Fifth Assembly, having convened (Sept. 17, 1787), had gravely considered anew the question of separation, and had decided unanimously that it is "ex- pedient for and the will of the good people of the District," that it should be separated from the rest of the State upon the terms and conditions prescribed by law. It had adopted a petition to Congress asking admission into the Union,^ and had secured, from the Virginia Legislature, the appointment of John Brown as the first Congressional delegate of the District, charging him with the delivery of the petition. The state of affairs which confronted Brown, when he entered upon his duties, was not calculated to increase his love for the Confederation. The Convention which gave birth to our present Constitution had just concluded its work and was now ready to submit it to the States for their approval.^ So much excitement was felt over this event, and so little attention was given to the Old Congress, that it could not collect a quorum during the entire winter; and, though its consent to the separation was necessary, before July 4th, 1788, according to the requirements of the Second 1 Littell's "Political Transactions," p. 32. 2 The "New Plan," as it was called, met great opposition, and especially from Virginia, which persisted in her refusal to "ratify," until nine States had already given their assent and further opposition was seen to be futile. In her convention, specially assembled to consider the New Federal Constitution, the District of Kentucky was represented by fourteen delegates — two from each of the seven counties. Three of them voted for the adoption, nine against it, and two did not vote at all. See Elliot's "Debates," 1836 Ed., Ill, p. 604. KENTUCKY ENTERS THE UNION 137 Enabling Act, the question of the admission of Kentucky did not come up until July 3d; and even then the Old Congress, desiring only to be relieved from all further re- sponsibility, declined to act upon the petition, referring it to the new government which was so soon to be organized. This made it impossible to fulfill the second set of condi- tions laid down by Virginia; and Kentucky found herself, after more than four years of ceaseless effort, exactly where she had been at the beginning. About two weeks later (July 28, 1788), a convention which had been elected to form a Constitution for the new State, assembled at Danville.^ Brown had sent a communication to Samuel McDowell, its president, and also to Judge Muter, announcing the failure of his mission, in spite of his very best efforts, and openly interpreting the failure of Congress to act upon Kentucky's petition, as due to jealousy on the part of the New England States, and an unwillingness that any additional strength be given to Southern representation i^i Congress. He declared it as his opinion that the same cause would operate under the new government; and he further communicated, "in con- fidence" the result of certain conferences which he had had with the Spanish minister. He spoke of a promise of that minister to give particular commercial advantages to Kentucky, "if she will erect herself into an independent government; " which advantages, he declared, "can never be yielded to her by Spain so long as she remains a mem- ber of the Union." " He announced it as his decided opinion that Kentucky ought to declare herself independ- 1 The original " Journal," in manuscript, of this Convention is among the Durrett MSS. 2 Collins, I, pp. 21, 22. 138 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY ent, at once, without waiting for another act from Vir- ginia, or for the new Federal government to be organized, and to admit her into the Union. There was great uncertainty among the members of the Convention as to the best course of action, under such discouraging circumstances, especially since the fail- ure of Brown's mission had made the formation of a State Constitution unnecessary, thereby annulling the only powers that had been delegated to them. The debate lasted several days, and was ended by the passage of resolutions, recommending the election of five delegates from each county of the District, to meet at Danville on the first Monday of the November following, there to take measures "for obtaining admission of the District, as a separate and independent member of the United States of America, and the navigation of the Missis- sippi . . . ; and also to form a constitutional govern- ment for the District." ^ This done, the Constitutional Convention quietly ad- journed to await the election of a Seventh Assembly; but dissatisfaction with the progress of events was becoming more general, and the radical element more confident of success. In the elections which followed, as in the Seventh As- sembly itself, we see, for the first time, a set conflict be- tween the Court party and the Country party; though the elections passed oflF quietly enough, except in Fayette 1 Quoted in full by Marshall, 1824 Ed., I, pp. 290, 291. There are five res- olutions besides the one quoted here. The Durret collection contains a manu- script volume which is the original record of the conventions of July, 1788, November, 1788, July, 1789, July, 1790, and of the Constitutional Conven- tion of April, 1792. It is in the handwriting of Thomas Todd, afterward As- sociate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. KENTUCKY ENTERS THE UNION 139 County, where Wilkinson presented himself as a candidate. The Country party was the stronger; but the Court party was far more energetic and unscrupulous. In Fayette County, Wilkinson soon saw that his chance of election by honest means was very small. He therefore dissembled his real views and associated himself with four other men in a joint ticket, but, as the voting proceeded and he dis- covered that he and his associates were falling danger- ously behind, he openly disavowed all disorganizing views, and professed himself perfectly ready to act according to the instructions of his constituents. This plan, together with his personal popularity, saved him, and he was elected, being the only member of his party returned from the county. In November the delegates of the Seventh Assembly met at Danville,^ both the Court party and the Country party being well represented. Wilkinson and Brown led the discussion. First, Wilkinson took the floor and, after dwelling at length upon the vast importance of the navigation of the Mississippi to the entire District and the whole West, declared that there was, "one way and but one of obtaining this rich prize for Kentucky, and that way was so guarded by laws and fortified by constitutions that it was difficult and dangerous of ac- cess; . . . that Spain had objected to granting the navi- gation in question to the United States;" ^ that it was not to be presumed that Congress would obtain it for Kentucky alone, or even for the entire West alone, as her 1 The Proceedings of this Convention are pubHshed in Appendix IX of Brown's "PoHtical Beginnings of Kentucky." They are also quoted very ex- tensively by Marshall in his "History of Kentucky," 1824 Ed., I, p. 316. The original MS. Journal is in the Durrett collection. 2 Marshall, 1824 Ed., I, p. 318; Butler, 1834 Ed., p. 176. 140 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY treaties must be general. "The way to obtain it," he continued, "has been indicated in the former convention, and every gentleman present will connect it with a dec- laration of independence, the formation of a constitu- tion and the organization of a new State, which may be safely left to find its own way into the Union on terms advantageous to its own interests." He concluded with the suggestive remark, "There is information of the first importance upon this subject within the power of the As- sembly, which I doubt not will be equally agreeable for the members to hear and the gentleman who possesses it to communicate." ^ He glanced at Brown, and the eyes of the whole Assembly followed his. Brown at once arose and expressed himself ready to give such information as was desired; but said that he did not feel at liberty to disclose what had passed in private between the Spanish Minister, Mr. Gardoqui and himself, but that he was certain that he could safely say this much, that, "provided we are unanimous, everything we wish for is within our reach." ^ He did not mention the specific point about which they must be unanimous; but it was evi- dent that this particular body was not likely to be unani- mous upon any point vital to the discussion, unless some- thing very decided was done. Wilkinson therefore arose and asked permission to "read an essay" upon the subject of the navigation of the Mis- sissippi. No objection being made, the General produced a manuscript of some twenty sheets and began. He urged the natural right of the Western people to the use of this great highway, and pointed out the vast resources of the 1 Collins, I, p. 270. 2 Butler, 1834 Ed., p. 177. KENTUCKY ENTERS THE UNION 141 District of Kentucky, which would be valueless without this means of securing a market. He recalled the general outcry which the people along the western waters had made, when Congress had threatened to abandon the navi- gation claim for twenty-five years, declaring that the West- ern people had been just on the point of cutting them- selves off forever from the Union on that account. He concluded by declaring that England stood ready to aid them in securing their right, in case Spain should be so blind to her own interests as to refuse it.^ Each sheet, as it was read, was handed over to Sebastian, • a man who was soon after proved to be a pensioner of Spain; and when Wilkinson had finished the essay a vote of thanks was extended to him. The logical moment for the proposing of a declaration of independence had now arrived; but no such suggestion was made, for Wilkinson and his colleagues of the Court party saw clearly that such a step would find no favor before this Convention. Without further action, therefore, than the adoption of the customary "addresses," the Seventh Assembly ad- journed. News had meanwhile reached Virginia that the action of the old Confederate Congress had made it impossible for Kentucky to fulfill the conditions of separation which had been laid down in the Second Enabling Act. The Vir- ginia Assembly therefore passed a "Third Enabling Act," ^ 1 Marshall, 1824 Ed., I, p. 320, taken from the notes of Colonel Thomas Marshall. 2 This act was passed December 29, 1788, and is entitled, "An act concern- ing the erection of the District of Kentucky into an Independent State." See Hening's "Statutes at Large," 12, p. 788. It also appears in full in the "Ken- tucky Gazette" for February 4, 1789. 142 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY which arrived in Kentucky during the month of January (1789), showing very clearly that Virginia was perfectly willing to secure the regular separation of Kentucky as soon as possible. This act however caused general dis- satisfaction, by reason of two conditions which were looked upon as unjust and uncalled for. The first, which pro- posed to subject the new State "to payment of a portion of the domestic debt of Virginia then existing," seems fair enough, when we consider that a large part of this debt had been incurred by military expeditions on account of the District, and since the passage of the First Enabling Act; but the second had no such justification. It pro- posed that the new State should continue "dependent upon Virginia as to the time for completing the titles and surveys to lands given to officers and soldiers by Virginia." This seemed to allow only for the creation of a partially in- dependent State,^ and the resentment which it aroused was, therefore, just. This act provided also for an Eighth Assembly of the District, constituted as before, which was to meet at Dan- ville on the third Monday in July, 1789, decide again upon the general advisability of a separation from Virginia upon the conditions proposed, and provide for the election of a Ninth Convention, to frame a Constitution and organize the new government, in case separation should be deemed advisable. In the meantime, the "Old Confederation" with its manifold defects and weaknesses had given way to the new order of things. The new Constitution was put into operation, according to the plan proposed by the great con- vention which formed it, on March 4, 1789; and notice was 1 Marshall, 1824 Ed., I, p. 342. General James Wilkinson From a life-size portrait by Jarvis, now in the possession of Colonel Reuben T. Durrett, of Louisville, Kentucky. KENTUCKY ENTERS THE UNION 1 43 at once given to the District of Kentucky that no time would be lost in effectually protecting her from the In- dians, who had lately become so bold in their incursions that no part of the District was secure. On July 20 the Eighth Assembly met at Danville, and took up the question of separation upon the terms re- quired by Virginia in her Third Enabling Act, the de- bate opening with the consideration of the two obnoxious conditions. After some discussion, it was decided that a memorial be sent to the Virginia Assembly, protesting against these conditions, and asking that they be with- drawn, and that the terms of separation be made "equal to those formerly offered by Virginia, and agreed to on the part of the said District." ^ On December 18, the General Assembly of Virginia, having carefully considered these remonstrances, and hav- ing decided that they were just, passed a " Fourth Ena- bling Act," ^ which contained practically the same con- ditions as had been laid down in the first two, but which omitted the two provisions contained in the third, to which the Assembly and the people had made such vigorous ob- jections. It furthermore required the election of a Ninth Assembly to meet at Danville, on July 26, 1790, and decide again the question, "whether it is expedient and '"MS. Journal of the Assembly," Durrett collection, contains the Ayes (25) and the Nays (13) on this question. It also contains a full list of the mem- bers of the Convention, and an interesting set of rules drawn up for governing the meeting. One of these is quite suggestive, viz.: "That any member con- ducting himself indecently towards the President or any of the members in the Convention — shall be subject to such reproof from the chair, as the Convention may think proper to direct." 2 Hening's "Statutes at Large," 12, p. 17. The act is entitled "An act concerning the erection of the District of Kentucky into an Independent State." It was passed on December 18, 1789. See also "Kentucky Gazette" for March 29, 1790. 144 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY the will of the good people of the District," that Kentucky become a separate State upon condition that, prior to the first of November, in the year aforesaid, the government of the United States release Virginia from the Federal obligations arising from the District, and agree that the proposed State shall be admitted into the Federal Union, upon a certain day to be set by the Convention. If this convention should decide in favor of separation upon these conditions, it was required to make arrange- ments for a Tenth Assembly, which should frame a Con- stitution and declare what laws should be in force in the new State. Accordingly, on the appointed day, the Ninth Assembly met at Danville, and passed a resolution declaring their acceptance of the conditions laid down in the Fourth En- abling Act of Virginia, naming June ist, 1792, as the day upon which the separation should occur. It next ap- pointed a committee, to draw up an address to the As- sembly of Virginia, announcing their acceptance of the conditions, and desiring their aid in obtaining the admis- sion of the new State into the Union. ^ James M. Marshall then submitted a memorial address to "The President of the United States and to Congress," expressing the warmest attachment to the Federal Govern- ment and Constitution, stating the grounds upon which Kentucky had secured independence, and asking for an act admitting her into the Union within the time prescribed by Virginia." ^ Having adopted this memorial, the Con- 1 North Carolina's sad experiences with John Sevier and the State of Frank- lin, was the real cause for Virginia's refusal to loosen her grasp upon Kentucky "until it was fully organized and ready for admission into the Union." Fiske's "Critical Period of Amer. Hist.," p. 202. 2 "Kentucky Gazette," February 12 and 19, 1791. Also Marshall, 1824 KENTUCKY ENTERS THE UNION 145 vention concluded its work by providing for the election of a Tenth Assembly, to choose officers, frame a Constitu- tion, and decide what laws should remain in force until altered or set aside by the new Legislature. The plots against the Union, so common during the early part of the struggle, had now been generally abandoned, and, at the time of the meeting of this last Assembly on separation, there is found no trace of dissatisfaction with the Union, or of desire to remain " Independent and Sover- eign" for any purpose whatsoever. A letter written by Washington to Colonel Marshall about this time, shows how thoroughly the spirit of secession had been conquered by the new order of things. It reads: "In acknowledging the receipt of your letter of the eleventh of September (1790), I must beg you to accept my thanks for the pleas- ing communication which it contains of the good disposi- tion of the people of Kentucky toward the government of the United States. I never doubted but that the opera- tions of this government, if not prevented by prejudice or evil designs, would inspire the citizens of America with such confidence in it as effectually to do away with these apprehensions, which, under our former Confederation, our best men entertained, of divisions among ourselves or al- lurements from other nations. I am therefore happy to find that such a disposition prevails in your part of the country as to remove any idea of that evil which, a few years ago, you so much dreaded."^ A few weeks after this letter was written, Washington, in his communication to Congress, strongly recommended Ed., I, pp. 361-362. Also MS. Journal of the Assembly. Durrett col- lection. 1 Washington's Works, edited by Sparks, X, p. 137. Kentucky — lo 146 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY the adoption of Kentucky into the Union. ^ In answer, the Senate announced their disposition, "to concur in giving the requisite sanction to the admission of Kentucky as a distinct member of the Union;" and the House, a few days later, declared, "We shall bestow on this important subject the favorable consideration which it merits; and, with the national policy which ought to govern our de- cision, shall not fail to mingle the affectionate sentiments which are awakened by those expressed in behalf of our fellow citizens of Kentucky." ^ On February 4th, 1791, both branches of the National Legislature fulfilled this pledge,^ and, on June i, 1792, Kentucky was admitted into the Union of States.^ 1 Ibid., XII, p. 13. 2 Marshall, 1824 Ed., I, p. 367. 3 The act admitting Kentucky is printed in " Kentucky Gazette" of March 19, 1791. It was signed by President Washington, on February 4, 1791. * Text of Kentucky's first Constitution, Durrett MSS. Reprint, Marshall, 1824 Ed., I, pp. 396-413. CHAPTER V HARMAR, WILKINSON AND ST. CLAIR While Kentucky is adjusting herself to the duties of statehood, and preparing to put her new Constitution into operation, we may pause for a few moments to consider the growth of the District during the long years of conflict for separation from Virginia; for which purpose, and in lieu of official census,^ we may conveniently make use of the diary of Major Erkuries Beatty, Paymaster of the Western Army,^ who saw fit to record his impressions of Kentucky during the year 1786. " In the latter end of the year 1779," he writes, "this whole extent of country only contained one hundred and seventy souls, and now they say there are thirty thousand in it," hastening, however, to add that, in his opinion, this estimate is some five thou- sand in excess of the truth. If we may venture to assume that Major Beatty's ap- parently conservative estimate is approximately accurate, and that Captain John Cowan's conclusions ^ of nine years earlier are equally trustworthy, we shall have a basis upon which to figure the rate of growth. Cowan fixed the total population, in 1777, at one hundred and 1 We have a detailed census of Kentucky from 1790 to the present day. See Collins, II, pp. 258-271, for table up to 1870. 2 Durrett MSS., unpublished. 3 When the first court ever held in the region now embraced within the State of Kentucky was convened at Harrodsburg, in September, 1777, Captain John Cowan estimated the total population at igS souls. Table showing various elements of this population, Collins, II, 606. 147 148 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY ninety-eight; by 1786 it had increased to twenty-five thou- sand, and, when the first regular census of the District was taken in 1790, it showed a total population of seventy- three thousand six hundred and seventy-seven.^ These figures imply that, during the nine years from 1777 to 1786, immigration to Kentucky averaged about two thousand seven hundred a year, and, from 1786 to 1790, twelve thousand a year.^ This vast army of immigrants had begun, long before 1786, to make use of the great Ohio river route into Ken- tucky, not only because it was safer and more convenient to travel by water, but also because it had become gener- ally known that the richest lands lay in the northern dis- tricts, and were more easily reached by the river than by either the old Wilderness Road, or the new road which the Virginia surveyors had opened up over the Cumberland mountains.^ This change of route had not escaped the savages, who, alarmed by the ever increasing white man's invasion of their hunting ground, had so persistently haunted the wooded banks of the Ohio, that, during all those years, scarcely a boat had escaped unmolested.^ 1 By the first of June, 1792, when Kentucky was admitted to the Union, her population numbered 100,000 souls. 2 Justin Winsor, in his "Westward Movement," p. 136, mentions these figures with a touch of skepticism. It may be argued that a considerable part of this increase may be accounted for by natural generation, but, to offset this, we have to consider the very large mortality of the District during these years of Indian warfare. In 1790 Judge Innis wrote to the Secretary of War, that the Indians alone had killed 1,500 persons during his seven years of residence in Kentucky. Durrett's "Kentucky Centenary," p. 45; Butler, 1834 Ed., p. 195. ^ Winsor's "Westward Movement," p. 136. For detailed description of the roads to Kentucky at this early period see Durrett's "Kentucky Centenary, pp. 75-76. * Burnett's "Notes on the Northwestern Territory," p. 83. HARMAR, WILKINSON AND ST. CLAIR 149 It had been the evident duty of the State of Virginia to do all in her power to render safe the routes of migration into her western possessions, but she had never been in a position to devote much attention to the matter, and had rather resented the obhgation. As soon, therefore, as the new Federal Constitution had been put into operation. Governor Randolph had taken action which was calcu- lated to throw this responsibility upon the National Gov- ernment. In June, 1789, he had issued, to the county lieutenants of the District of Kentucky, an order,^ direct- ing them to discharge all their scouts and rangers, and de- claring, "in cases of any future incursions of Indians, you will give as early information of them as possible to the officer commanding the Continental post on the Ohio, nearest the point of attack. I have communicated to the President the instructions now sent you, and have no doubt but effective measures will be taken to protect all the inhabitants of the frontiers." From the point of view of the Federal Government, it had been necessary for her to accept this duty, both be- cause the new Constitution gave her sole charge of Indian affairs,^ and because the Indian depredations along the Ohio frontier were notoriously the result of the failure of England to remove her troops from the Northwest posts: but from the point of view of the Kentucky people, such a change was a disaster, as the Federal troops along the Ohio were too few to be of any real service in the defence of so large a frontier. The Eighth Assembly upon separation, then in session, had therefore, ventured to turn aside from the specific object for which it had been elected, to enter a 1 Copy of this order, Marshall, 1824 Ed., I, pp. 352-353. 2 Section VIII, Clause 3. 150 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY spirited protest against this policy,^ and to dispatch to the President a complaint of the defenceless condition of the frontiers. This complaint had been reinforced by a letter from General Arthur St. Clair,^ which declared, "The constant hostilities between the Indians who live upon the river Wabash, and the people of Kentucky, must necessarily be attended with such embarrassing circumstances to the Government of the Western Territory, that I am induced to request you will be pleased to take the matter into con- sideration, and give me the orders you may think proper. " It is not to be expected. Sir, that the Kentucky people will or can submit patiently to the cruelties and depre- dations of the savages — they are in the habit of retali- ation, perhaps without attending precisely to the nations from which the injuries are received. They will continue to retaliate, or they will apply to the Governor of the West- ern Country (through which the Indians must pass to attack them) for redress; if he cannot redress them (and in the present circumstances he cannot), they also will march through that country to redress themselves, and the Government will be laid prostrate. "The United States on the other hand are at peace with several of the nations; ^ and should the resentment of these 1 Marshall, 1824 Ed., I, p. 353, quotes their resolution appointing a com- mittee, "to draw up and transmit to the executive, a remonstrance on the sub- ject," and "to state to his excellency, the President of Congress, the defenceless state of our frontiers." 2 St. Clair had recently been appointed the first Governor of the Northwest Territory, in payment, it is said, for the support which, as President of Congress, he had given to the Ordinance of 1787. See Winsor's "Critical and Narrative History," VII, p. 539. Full text of letter, "Kentucky Gazette," January 2, 1790. The letter is dated September 14, 1789. 3 St. Clair had just completed treaties with several Indian tribes within the HARMAR, WILKINSON AND ST. CLAIR 151 people fall upon any of them, which is Hkely enough to happen, very bad consequences may follow; for it must appear to them that the United States either pay no regard to their treaties, or that they are unable or unwilling to carry their engagements into effect — they will unite with the hostile nations, prudently preferring open war to a de- lusive and uncertain peace. . . . "The handful of troops. Sir, that are scattered in that country, though they may afford protection to some settle- ments, cannot possibly act offensively . . . "I have the honor to be, Sir, Your most obedient and most humble servant, "Arthur St. Clair. "The President of the U.S." This letter, together with the protest from Kentucky, called forth the President's message of September 16, 1789,^ in which he suggested to Congress, "the expediency of making some temporary provision for calling forth the militia of the United States for the purposes stated in the Constitution, which would embrace the cases appre- hended by the Governor of the Western Territory," and it was not long before the people of Kentucky were assured that their cause was receiving careful attention. "It has been a great relief to our apprehensions for the safety of our brethren on the frontiers," they declared, a little later, in an address to Washington, "to learn, from the commu- nications of the Secretary of War, that their protection against the incursions of the Indians has occupied your attention." ^ Territory, and they were proclaimed by the President on September 29, 1789. Marshall, 1824 Ed., I, p. 354. 1 Full text in "Kentucky Gazette" of January 2, 1790. 2 "Kentucky Gazette," January 16, 1790. 152 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY They showed, however, no disposition to trust the mat- ter wholly to the National Government, but began per- fecting and extending their local militia system,^ preparing to defend themselves, in case the new Federal Government should prove as incompetent as the old Confederacy had been; and these precautions were not abandoned, even after the receipt of a communication from the War De- partment, which declared that, " such measures as are within the power and consistent with the general duty of the President of the United States will be adopted for the protection of the frontiers." ^ On May 30th, 1790, Governor St. Clair arrived at Louis- ville, on his way to meet General Harmar and arrange an expedition to the Indian country, which, it was hoped, would check all hostility for the future.^ Their plans were soon settled and, toward the end of September, Harmar, with three hundred and twenty regulars,'* took up his march toward the Miami villages. In Western Pennsyl- vania five hundred troops had been enlisted,^ troops as unfit for the service as any that the land could afford. So impotent were they that, " the crowd of discarded, un- just serving men, and revolted tapsters that followed Fal- staff to the field of Shrewsbury," says Professor McMas- ter,^ "would have put it to shame." Instead of soldiers accustomed to bearing arms, came old men tottering on 1 For the new Militia Law, see "Kentucky Gazette," January 30, 1790. 2 This document, dated December 15, 1789, was in reply to the complaint sent to New York on September 8. It appears in full in the "Kentucky Ga- zette" of March 15, 1790. 3 Marshall, 1824 Ed., I, p. 360; Burnet's "Notes on the Northwestern Ter- ritory," p. 93. * Irving's "Washington," 1875 Ed., p. 639. 5 Burnet's "Notes on the Northwestern Territory," p. 99. 6 "History of the People of the United States," I, p. 598. HARMAR, WILKINSON AND ST. CLAIR 153 their legs, or beardless youths, nervously fingering their first firelocks, half of them, "too ignorant to take off a lock to oil it, or put in a flint so as to be of use." ^ At Fort Washington,^ a band of stout Kentucky volun- teers,^ under Colonels Hardin and Trotter, joined him, raising his numbers to about one thousand four hundred men; and the army began its march of seventeen days toward the Miami villages. Their advance was so slow that ample warning was given the Indians, who leisurely abandoned their towns and took refuge in the forest, where they planned an ambuscade, into which the invading army promptly blundered. Harmar, having encamped with his main force at the deserted Indian towns, sent Colonel Hardin with thirty regulars, and one hundred and fifty Kentucky militia ^ to follow and hunt down the fugitive savages. Hardin was confident that the Indians would not offer battle, and was explaining the reasons for this be- lief, when his army reached the edge of a large flat plain, bordered on either side by thick clusters of underbrush, a place where any cautious Indian fighter would have paused to reconnoiter.^ He, however, took no such pre- caution, and the surprise and panic were complete, when the army suddenly found itself assailed from both sides by bands of savage warriors. The scene of Blue Licks was repeated. Little Turtle, the famous Miami chief, with some seven hundred warriors, had planned the encounter, and now rose up to take advantage of the confusion of 1 McMaster, I, p. 598; Burnet's "Notes," p. 102. 2 On the site of Losantiville, or Cincinnati. 3 Marshall, 1824 Ed., I, p. 362, puts theirnumberat 1,133. Burnet's "Notes," p. 99, says 1,000. * McMaster, I, p. 599; Marshall, 1824 Ed., I, p. 363. 5 Irving's "Washington," 1875 Ed., p. 689. 154 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY their enemies. The militia fled without firing a shot, and Hardin with them; ^ while the thirty regulars, under Cap- tain Armstrong, and Ensign Hartshorn, stood their ground until all, except the two officers ^ and two or three privates, had fallen. Meanwhile, the Indian villages and winter stores hav- ing been destroyed, General Harmar with his main army had begun the return march toward Fort Washington, (October 21, 1790). Hardin soon overtook him and begged permission to return with a detachment, and strike another blow at the enemy. It was a foolish request, and Harmar at first refused it, but he finally yielded, and placed four hundred militia at Colonel Hardin's disposal,^ With this army Hardin returned to the ruins of the Indian vil- lages, and, having profited nothing by his late disaster, he at once allowed his militia to scatter in pursuit of a band of loitering savages. The Indian leaders had expected this,^ and, as soon as the militia were safely out of the way, they suddenly assailed the little body of regulars, now left alone, and cut them to pieces. Not one escaped,^ and, when the militia, recalled from their pursuit by the noise of the battle, returned to give aid, it was too late. The day was irretrievably lost. Colonel Hardin with the shattered remnant of his militia, effected an escape, leaving his dead and wounded in the hands of the enemy, or packed with the fallen savages in the ford of the Maumee River, 1 McMaster, I, p. 599. 2 Hartshorn fell behind a log and escaped the notice of the savages, while Armstrong lay all night, sunk up to the neck in a neighboring swamp. But- ler, 1834 Ed., p. 192. 3 McMaster, I, p. 600. 4 Marshall, 1824 Ed., I, p. 364. s Butler, 1834 Ed., p. 193. HARMAR, WILKINSON AND ST. CLAIR 155 where, it is said, one could cross dry shod, treading upon the corpses of the slain and the writhing bodies of the wounded.^ Still was Hardin undismayed. Having reached the main army, he again begged Harmar for men, once more to try his fortunes against the victorious enemy: but Har- mar, who had at last learned a lesson, refused, and has- tened to lead his army back to Fort Washington. The expedition excited comment, unfavorable both to Harmar and to Hardin, and a court-martial ^ was held, in which, however, both were honorably acquitted, though even this verdict could not wholly silence the suspicion that Harmar had " shown the white feather," and he shortly afterwards surrendered his commission.^ In the case of Hardin the acquittal was followed by a new court-martial, held at Young's tavern in Lexington, and, although the verdict declared, "We do unanimously agree that Colonel John Hardin's conduct on the said ex- pedition, was that of a brave and active officer and that we approve his conduct," "* the facts seem rather to bear out the statement of James Brown,'"' that, " Personal bravery is the only part of the character of Hardin which stands unimpeached. . . . When you hear," he adds, "that the Indians, with half or less than half the loss of the whites, kept the field and, by that means, pos- sessed themselves of the scalps and plunder, you will cer- 1 Schouler, I, p. 154. 2 Burnet's "Notes," p. 104. 3 Schouler, I, p. 155. * An account of this hearing, with the names of the judges and witnesses, appears in the "Kentucky Gazette" for December 11, 1790. 6 Brown MSS., James Brown to his brother, dated Danville, November 29, 1790. 156 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY tainly call it a defeat. . . . Much of the blame . . . will be fixed on the militia of this country whose misbe- havior was as much the effect of the misconduct of the officers as of their own want of spirit, . . ." There can be little doubt that this was the true state- ment of the case. General Harmar had, indeed, proved himself weak and incompetent, by yielding to the impor- tunities of Hardin, a subaltern, and in permitting ventures which his own judgment could not sanction; but the defeat had been due to Colonel Hardin, the commander of the Kentucky militia, and he should have borne a larger part of the blame which was so mercilessly meted out to General Harmar. The people of Kentucky, however, took no such view. In their minds the disasters had been due to the fact that an officer of the regular army had commanded the ex- pedition, and a petition, signed by a number of prominent Kentuckians, was forwarded to President Washington, pleading that no more regular officers be sent to command expeditions against an enemy of whom they knew nothing. Washington and Knox, his Secretary of War, carefully considered this unreasonable demand, and even consulted John Brown, the only congressional delegate of what was then the District of Kentucky. At this conference it was arranged that, in order to satisfy the people of Kentucky, a local board of war should be appointed in the District, which, in conjunction with the commander of the United States Army in the West, should have power to call out the local militia for expeditions against the Indians, and to post scouts at certain points throughout the Kentucky District.^ 1 Scott, Innis, Shelby, Logan and Brown composed this board. Collins, I, p. 273. HARMAR, WILKINSON AND ST. CLAIR 157 When General Knox announced, however, that General Arthur St. Clair was to be appointed commander of the United States Army in the West, Brown protested. He declared that the appointment of St. Clair would be ex- ceedingly distasteful to the people of Kentucky, not only on account of his unfortunate career during the Revolution- ary War, but also because of his radical views concerning western, affairs.^ But St. Clair received the appointment, in spite of Brown's protests, and at once began preparations for an expedition against the Wabash tribes. The Kentuckians, meanwhile, chafing under the recol- lection of the ill conduct of their troops during the Harmar campaign, determined to conduct an expedition of their own, in order to "wipe away the stain," and to "prove to the general government that expeditions can be con- ducted with less expense and greater success." " In May, 1791, a call was made, and the eight hundred mounted volunteers who responded were placed under Brigadier General Charles Scott,^ with Wilkinson as sec- ond in command. They marched at once toward the Wabash towns and, on June ist, came into their imme- diate neighborhood. Colonel John Hardin, with sixty mounted infantry and a troop of light horse under Cap- tain M'Cay, was detached to attack a village to the left, while the main body pushed on, in order of battle, toward a town which the guides said was just in front of them. Having passed a strip of woodland which had impeded the view, Scott found that the guides had been mistaken 1 Butler, 1834 Ed., p. 196; Marshall, 1824 Ed., I, p. 377. 2 Letter of James Brown, dated November 29, 1790. Brown MSS. 3 Details of Scott expedition given in "Kentucky Gazette" of June 25, 1791. 158 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY as to the location of the main town, and pressed on to the top of the next elevation, from which he could see the vil- lage nestling in the bottom land beside the Wabash, and the inhabitants embarking in canoes with the evident in- tention of making good their escape. Lieutenant-Colonel Wilkinson, hastening forward with the first battalion, opened fire upon the fugitives, and, "in two minutes un- loaded five canoes crowded with savages." News now came that Colonel Hardin had made a suc- cessful attack upon the settlements to the left, and, en- cumbered with prisoners though he was, had passed on to a still stronger village beyond. Aid was instantly dis- patched to him, but before it could arrive Hardin had carried that town also, and was marching to join the main army, bringing a picturesque array of fifty-two savage captives.^ The next morning Wilkinson marched, with a detach- ment of three hundred and fifty men,^ against a large set- tlement on the Eel River, and utterly destroyed it. By June the fourth the object of the expedition had been fully accomplished, and the whole army started for the fort at the Rapids of the Ohio, where it arrived, ten days later, without the loss of a single man at the enemies' hands,' and with only five wounded. They had killed thirty-two warriors, taken fifty-eight prisoners, burned a number of important villages, and destroyed considerable stores. "We sincerely lament," says the writer of the account in the "Kentucky Gazette," "that the weather and the 1 Butler, 1834 Ed., p. 197, from General Scott's report. 2 Marshall, 1824 Ed., I, p. 374. 3 Three of our men were drowned in the White River on their return. " Ken- tucky Gazette," June 18, 1791. HARMAR, WILKINSON AND ST. CLAIR 159 consequences it produced, rendered it impossible to carry terror and desolation to the head of the Wabash." The complete success of this expedition, together with the memory of General Harmar's defeat, caused the Ken- tuckians to look with increased disfavor upon the prep- arations of General St. Clair, and his call for volunteers secured no response from them. Not a general officer, and scarcely a private, offered his services, one and all openly avowing their preference for such desultory ex- peditions as Wilkinson had just conducted,^ and their distrust of the leader whom the Federal administration had appointed. A draft of one thousand Kentuckians was ac- cordingly made,^ and, in lieu of a general officer from the district, command of this unwilling band was entrusted to Colonel Oldham, under whom, cursing their fate, and ready to desert at the first opportunity, they sullenly pro- ceeded to Fort Washington (now Cincinnati), to join St. Clair's army of two thousand regulars.^ Their reluctance and apprehension were not diminished when, on October ist, they left Fort Washington, and began their march " to attack the most cunning of foes; yet led by a general, wrapped in flannels, unable to stand, lying in a car bolstered with pillows, surrounded with physic, and groaning at every jolt of the wagon." ^ As occasion offered itself, one band after another deserted the army, like rats escaping from a sinking ship, and, when the day of reckoning for St. Clair finally came (November 4, 1791), but two hundred and fifty of the one thousand 1 Marshall's "Washington," 1850 Ed., II, p. 193. 2 Butler, 1834 Ed., p. 200. 3 Marshall, 1824 Ed., I, p. 378; Collins, I, p. 273. * McMaster's "History of the People of the United States," II, p. 68. KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTO] drafted Kentuckians remained to receive the commands of their gallant leader, Colonel Oldham.^ On November 3d, St. Clair encamped his men upon the banks of a small creek, which he mistook for the St. Mary's River,^ little suspecting that the enemy was at hand in full force. The few remaining Kentucky militia were advanced a quarter of a mile beyond the creek, while, beyond them still, lay Captain Slough with his company of regulars. The main body of the army had the creek in front, while its " right flank was pretty well secured by the creek, a steep bank and Faulkner's corps; some of the cavalry and their pieces covered the left flank." ^ "I had determined," writes St. Clair,^ "to throw up a slight work . . . wherein to have deposited the men's knapsacks, and everything else that was not of absolute necessity . . . but they [the savages] did not permit me ... on the fourth, about half an hour before sun- rise ... an attack was made upon the militia;^ those gave way in a very little time and rushed into camp . . . which . . . they threw into considerable disorder." In explanation of this sudden and unexpected attack, the "Western World" declares ^ that one Sweezy had given the Indians information as to the best point of attack, and 1 Collins, I, p. 274. 2 St. Clair's report to the Secretary of War, dated Fort Washington, No- vember 9, 1791. Printed in full in " Kentucky Gazette," March 3 and ic, 1792. 3 St. Clair's official report. Marshall, 1824 Ed., I, p. 380. 4 Official report. 5 The militia now constituted the farthest outpost, as Slough, soon after taking up his advanced position the previous night, had seen so many Indians moving toward the tents, that he had prudently led back his little band into the main camp, and reported his observations to a general officer, who thanked him for his vigilance, but made no use of the information. McMaster, II, p. 45. 6 This article of the " Western World " is quoted in full in the "Palla- dium" of August 21, 1806. HARMAR, WILKINSON AND ST. CLAIR l6l broadly hints that Wilkinson was responsible for Sweezy's treachery, being eager for the defeat of the army, in order that "some more experienced officer, (i. e., he, Wilkinson) " may have " an opportunity of signalizing himself." Perhaps this is libelous, but, if it be true, Wilkinson had reason to be proud of his success, for the wreck of St. Clair's army was pitifully complete.^ Mad, disorderly panic followed the first gallant resistance of the regulars. No attempt was made either to check the enemy or to cover the retreat of the flying army, each man striving only to escape with his life. The road was soon strewn with loaded muskets, coats, hats and boots, everything which impeded the speed of the fugitives having been cast aside.^ So great was their haste that, in the sunlight of that short November day, the remains of St. Clair's recently for- midable army covered the twenty-nine miles to Fort Jef- ferson, a march which, in the advance, had occupied ten days.^ St. Clair himself, although prostrated by a severe attack of gout, had, at the opening of the battle, directed his attendants to carry him into the field of action, and there had given his orders with a coolness which proved his courage, if not his military wisdom. When it had become evident, however, that he could not stay the panic, he had 1 " It was long supposed that the leader of the tribes on that terrible day was Little Turtle, a noted chief of the Miamis. But it is now known that they were led to the fight by Thayendanegea, whom the English called Joseph Brant. Many have supposed him to have been a half-breed; some have thought, the son of Sir William Johnson. There can be little doubt, however, that he was a Mohawk, and that his mother bore him on the banks of the Ohio River." McMaster, II, p. 46. 2 Schouler, I, p. 195. 3 McMaster, II, p. 46. Kentucky — 11 1 62 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY made his escape, upon a pack horse which he could neither mount nor dismount without assistance.^ This disaster, which was even more overwhelming than that of Harmar,^ proved conclusively the necessity for more care in the selection of commanding officers for Indian expeditions, a lesson which the Federal Government at last learned, as will appear from the history of the final campaign against the Wabash country some eighteen months later. 1 Marshall, 1824 Ed., I, p. 383. Of his army, seventy officers and seven hundred soldiers were killed or wounded. In a letter from St. Clair to Major Brown, commander of the militia of Kentucky, written a few days later, he laments the death of the "gallant commander Lieutenant-Colonel Oldham," but attributes the defeat to the desertion and bad conduct of the Kentucky militia, whom Oldham had led. Text of letter in "Kentucky Gazette" for December 10, 1791. 2 St. Clair himself was exculpated by a committee of the House of Represen- tatives, appointed to inquire into the causes of failure of the expeditiqfi. Mar- shall's "Washington," 1850 Ed., II, p. 223. iqn. a CHAPTER VI ONE PHASE OF THE GENET MISSION The fate of the Harmar and the St. Clair expeditions, which had cast a gloom over the last days of conflict for independent statehood, and over the deliberations of the first Constitutional Convention of Kentucky, served also to chill the enthusiasm w^ith which the Kentucky people might otherwise have regarded the approach of the first day of June, 1792, the date fixed for the entrance of Ken- tucky into the Union. The places left vacant in many a household served as a perpetual reminder that the new Federal Government had, as yet, done nothing to convince the frontiersmen of its superiority over the old Confed- eracy which it had superseded. This date being passed, however, and the first elections having been held, the new state officials assembled in Lex- ington; and, as soon as the preliminary work of organiza- tion was completed, and the two Houses ready for busi- ness, a joint committee was sent to inform Isaac Shelby, the Governor, that they were ready to receive such com- munications as he might choose to make. At noon the next day (June 6, 1792) the Governor, following the custom then observed by the Federal Gov- ernment, presented himself before the General Assembly of both Houses and delivered his message in person.^ He then presented a copy of the message to the Speaker 1 Text of Message, " Kentucky Gazette," June 23, 1792. 163 164 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY of each House, and retired, leaving the Legislature to begin the work of making laws for the new Common- wealth. Of interest, as showing the value of money in those re- mote days, is an act for compensating the members of the late Constitutional Convention, which provided that the President should receive the sum of twenty dollars; each member and the sergeant-at-arms, twelve dollars; the clerk, fifty dollars; and the doorkeeper, twelve dollars, "in full for all demands." ^ The real meaning of these fig- ures appears when we catch a glimpse of the extraordi- nary prices which then prevailed on the Kentucky frontier. Beef sold at two cents a pound; buffalo meat at one and one-half; and venison at one and a quarter. Butter was eight cents a pound, and turkeys fifteen cents apiece. Ar- ticles of manufacture were of course relatively high, but most of these were luxuries, enjoyed only by the well-to- do. While the Legislature was organizing the new State government,^ alarming stories of Indian depredations were constantly arriving from the frontier. The marauding bands were small, it is true, but so sudden and so secret were their movements that they wrought great destruc- tion with comparatively little loss to their own forces, and so skillfully were their tracks concealed that it was well- nigh impossible to overtake them. Pursuing parties often 1 Equally astonishing are the salaries of public officials fixed by the Legis- lature at its session of November, 1793. The Governor's salary V7as to be $1,000; that of the Judges of the Court of Appeals, $666s; that of the Judges of Oyer and Terminer, $100; while the Secretary of State, the Treasurer, the Audi- tor, and the Attorney-General were each to receive the princely sum of $333 J. CoUins, I, p. 23, and II, p. 182. 2 The "Kentucky Gazette" for June 30, 1792, gives a list of 34 Acts passed during the first session. ONE PHASE OF THE GENET MISSION 165 found themselves attacked when they least suspected the presence of the enemy, and frequent and heavy losses re- sulted from these surprises.^ In May, 1792, General Wilkinson, who had taken ser- vice in the regular army and was commanding at Fort Washington, despatched Colonel John Hardin and Major Truman upon the dangerous mission of carrying a flag of truce to the hostile tribes of the Northwest. His intention was to persuade the savages to attend a peace conference at the mouth of the Miami River, but it sadly miscarried. Hardin and Truman, messengers of peace though they were, were treacherously murdered by unofficial represent- atives of the tribes to whom they had been sent.^ Faith in the possible effectiveness of peaceful negoti- ations was thus weakened, even in minds which still cher- ished the sentiment, then so common in the unexposed, eastern sections of the nation, that the Indian was by na- ture noble, and inclined to respond to generous treatment.^ Out of respect for this sentiment, Washington had ap- pointed, during the month of April, 1793, certain commis- sioners to reopen the question of peace with the hostile tribes, and, much to the disappointment of Kentucky, had forbidden all hostilities against them pending the negoti- ations.^ It was now evident, however, that such a plan of procedure was the vainest of delusions, and the commis- 1 For example, the defeat of Major John Adair on November 6, 1792, at the camp near Fort St. Clair. Marshall, II, p. 41. 2 These murders. Colonel Marshall ventures to hint, (" Kentucky," II, p. 42), were, perhaps, committed with the connivance of General Wilkinson and the Spanish plotters, who had never completely abandoned their secret intrigues with the servants of his most Catholic Majesty. 3 Butler, p. 221, comments upon this sentiment, and Smith, pp. 314-317, more elaborately. * Burnet's "Notes on the Northwestern Territory," p. 157. 1 66 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY sioners soon returned, announcing their mission unsuccess- ful.^ Nothing remained, therefore, but war. General Anthony Wayne, "Mad Anthony," as he was commonly called, had been chosen to succeed General St. Clair, in the conduct of the war for the defence of the fron- tier. Wayne's heroic career during the Revolution had fully proved his daring; but there was still some question as to his military skill and wisdom. Jefferson records that Washington regarded him as, "brave but nothing else," and Washington himself has left a written estimate, de- scribing him, in no very flattering terms, as, " more active and enterprising than judicious and cautious, no econo- mist . . . open to flattery, vain; easily imposed upon and liable to be drawn into scrapes." ^ The appointment had been by no means popular, as public opinion concerning his character corresponded very closely with that of Wash- ington, and the latter felt considerable anxiety lest the new leader should, through his rashness, bring new dis- credit upon the administration. The English also, re- garded the appointment with solicitude, but for very different reasons. Knowing Wayne's daring nature, they feared that he might be tempted into an attack upon British posts, and thus bring to a sudden crisis the already strained relations between the two nations.^ But the selection of James Wilkinson, as the first of four brigadier-generals ^ to serve in the Northwestern army, was even more astonishing than the appointment of Wayne as Commander-in-chief, for Washington must have 1 Stille's, "Major-General Wayne and the Pennsylvania Line," p. 326. 2 Winsor's "Westward Movement," p. 439. 3 Ibid., p. 440. * Wilkinson had been made a Brigadier-General in 1792. ONE PHASE OF THE GENET MISSION 167 recalled his somewhat shadowy career in Kentucky, and, according to Jefferson, spoke of him in cabinet meeting as, "brave, enterprising to excess; but [with] many un- approvable points in his character." During the months occupied by the organization of Ken- tucky's new government, the great European conflict known as the French Revolution had been causing much excitement in the Coast States. It will be remembered that the American colonies, when attempting to secure the aid of France in their struggle with the mother-country, had bound themselves to join France in any defensive war against England in which she might later become in- volved. Now, after fifteen years, the United States was called upon to fulfill this agreement, which she promptly refused to do, urging the very lame excuse, that a treaty made with the King of France did not bind the United States to give aid to the government which had destroyed the French Monarchy.^ To the leaders responsible for the conduct of American affairs, this appeared the only course open to the United States. Our new Federal Gov- ernment was not yet in thorough working order, and the land had by no means recovered from the effects of the long and exhausting struggle for independence. To en- gage in another war under such conditions seemed an act of national suicide. They had even submitted to the open violation of the treaty of peace on the part of England, who still held the Northwestern posts which she had pledged herself to abandon, and they felt themselves fully justified in refusing to rise at the call of France, even at the risk of offending our old allies. On the other hand, 1 This was one line of argument adopted by Hamilton in the cabinet con- ference on the subject of neutrality. Cf. Schouler, I, p. 245. 1 68 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY the Federal Government had not yet succeeded in con- quering the suspicion with which it was regarded by a large percentage of its citizens, and these, as soon as the neutral attitude of the administration began to show itself, displayed their distrust, in an open and violent French partizanship. The Kentucky people had, in addition to their natural attachment to France and their implacable hatred of Eng- land, another strong reason for desiring to enter the con- flict. The Spaniards, who still held Louisiana and refused to grant to the United States the free navigation of the Mississippi River, were allied with England in the war against France; and it was felt that, only by joining with the latter and crushing this dual league, was there any hope of opening up that natural highway, so essential to the prosperity and commercial life of the West. All over the country were springing up organizations of French sympathizers called "Democratic Clubs," com- posed of the extreme Anti-Federalists, who demanded alliance with France. They were modeled after the famous Jacobin Clubs of Europe, styled themselves the "patrons and protectors of the people's rights and liberties," and were bitterly opposed to Washington's administration, with regard both to foreign and domestic affairs. In August, 1793, one of these clubs was organized at Lexington, Kentucky, and among its earliest deliverances was a violent resolution, declaring, — "That the right of people on the waters of the Mississippi, to the navigation, is undoubted; and . . . ought to be peremptorily de- manded of Spain, by the Government of the United States." ^ Similar clubs were organized at Georgetown, 1 Marshall, II, p. 92; Collins, I, p. 23. ONE PHASE OF THE GENET MISSION 169 Paris, and other places in the State, and they were not backward in announcing their censure, and their contempt for a government, so obtuse to the most pressing needs of its citizens, and so deaf to the calls of duty and honor; to duty, because it had failed to secure the navigation of the Mississippi River; to honor, because it refused to go to war with England, at the call of France. Meanwhile, Edmund Charles Genet, accredited repre- sentative of the new French Republic, had landed at Charleston (April 8, 1793), and had begun enlisting sea- men, commissioning officers, and fitting out privateers, to prey upon British commerce. Upon the announcement of Washington's Proclamation of Neutrality (April 22, 1793), he turned his attention to the task of exciting hatred and opposition against the Federal Government, his aim being to enlist the American Nation upon the side of France, whether the Federal authorities liked it or not. This scheme being speedily frustrated by the vigorous action of the Federal Administration, Genet formed a plan for using a promise of free navigation of the Mississippi River, as a lever by which to move Kentucky and the West, to an attack upon Spanish territory, thus forcing America into a war with Spain, and, in consequence, with Spain's ally, England. He accordingly, in November, 1793, dis- patched four French agents, Delpeau, LaChaise, Ma- thurin, and Gignoux,^ to Kentucky, to cooperate with Michaux, who was already on the ground, ^ in raising a 1 McMaster, II, p. 142; Butler, p. 222. Marshall, II, p. 96, gives the names spelled differently. 2 Michaux's instructions appear in the "Seventh Report of the Historical Manuscripts Commission," p. 221; "Annual Report of American Historical Association," II, 1903. For Jefferson's remarks on his mission to Kentucky, see " Anas " for July 5, 1793. I/O KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY force to attack the Spanish possessions at New Orleans and along the Mississippi. There was no attempt to make a mystery of this mission. The French agents, having in- structions to hold out every inducement for enlisting Ken- tuckians for the expedition, acted quite in the open from the first, and for a while success seemed assured. The hero, George Rogers Clark, was easily prevailed upon to accept the high-sounding title of, " Major-General in the armies of France, and Commander-in-Chief of the revolutionary legions on the Mississippi." Indeed, from the Genet correspondence recently published by the Gov- ernment,^ it seems probable that Clark suggested the whole scheme, and that Jefferson, the Secretary of State, de- liberately encouraged it.^ In one of his earlier reports to the French Minister of Foreign Affairs, Genet says that, when he first arrived in Philadelphia, to take up the work of his mission, he found a letter from General Clark, offer- ing, " a well conceived plan, and satisfactory details, of the means which he could employ to make the conquest of Louisiana." ^ Jefferson, Genet adds, encouraged the plan, as he was engaged in the attempt to secure from Spain a port of deposit at the mouth of the Mississippi, and thought that such an uprising ^ might hasten matters. 1 "Correspondence of the French Ministers of the United States, 1791-1797," edited by Frederick J. Turner; "Seventh Report of the Historical Manuscripts Commission;" "Annual Report of American Historical Association," 1903, II, pp. 220-221. 2 See also Jefferson's " Anas " July 5, 1793, for account of his interview with Genet relative to his schemes for Kentucky and the West. 3 " . . . un plan bien conju et des details satisfaisants sur les moyens dont il peut disposer pour faire la conquete de la Louisiane"; "Seventh Annual Report of the Historical Manuscripts Commission," IV; Correspondence of Genet, p. 221. * "Une petite irruption spontan^e des habitants de Kentukey dans la nou- velle Orleans." Ibid. George Rogers Clark From a life-size portrait by Matthew Harris Jouett, now in the possession of Colonel Reuben T. Durrett, of Louisville, Kentucky. ONE PHASE OF THE GENET MISSION 171 Upon receiving his commission, Clark issued, over his own signature, a set of " Proposals for raising volunteers for the reduction of the Spanish posts on the Mississippi, for opening the trade of that river and giving freedom to all its inhabitants," etc. "All persons serving on the expedition," he announced, are "to be entitled to one thousand acres of land. Those that engage for one year will be entitled to two thousand acres — if they serve two years, or during the present war, with France, they will have three thousand acres, of any unappropriated land that may be conquered — the officers in proportion; pay, etc., as other French troops. All lawful plunder to be equally divided according to the custom of war. . . . Those that serve the expedition will have their choice of receiving their land, or one dollar per day." This docu- ment was printed in the " Kentucky Gazette " of Febru- ary 8th, 1794,^ and Clark's fame, together with these glit- tering promises, induced many to volunteer for the ex- pedition, little realizing what momentous consequences would result, if it were carried out, and confident that Clark would engage in no enterprise which he believed to be contrary to the best interests of his State and of his country. Their estimate of Clark's character was probably cor- rect. It is unfair to conclude that, because he undertook to lead such an expedition, he was a traitor. If we as- sume this attitude, we condemn a large percentage of the American citizens of that day. It was a time of bitter party feeling, so bitter, indeed, that even Washington did not escape charges of disloyalty, and even of personal dishonesty. Genet had turned the Coast States upside 1 Reprinted from the "Sentinel" of the Northwestern Territory. 172 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY down, with his liberty caps and his revolutionary motto. He had felt himself so strong that he had even dared openly to resist the decrees of American law, and to threaten to appeal from Washington to his people, if his demands were not speedily complied with:^ and Clark, in his willingness to accept a commission under France, stood, if not with the majority, at least among a very respectable minority of his fellow-citizens, and acted upon what he believed to be the best policy for his country. When Washington learned what Clark and his associates were planning, he at once notified Governor Shelby that he "should take those legal measures which might be necessary to prevent such enterprise," ^ as negotiations were already under way to gain for Kentucky the navi- gation which she so much desired; and that any rash act, such as the one now contemplated, would render these negotiations ineffective, as well as expose the participants therein to punishment. Governor Shelby's reply was to the effect that no such attempt had come to his knowledge, but that he would be particularly attentive to prevent one.^ Whether Governor Shelby was perfectly open and honest in this statement may be justly questioned. It seems impossible that he could have failed to discover that such an expedition was pre- paring, and that quite openly, for the " Kentucky Gazette" freely published articles calculated to encourage it and to 1 In the "Kentucky Gazette" of September 28, 1793, appears a communica- tion signed John Jay and Rufus King, asking that the editor make public their assertion that "Mr. Genet, the French minister, said he would appeal to the people from certain decisions of the President." 2 Marshall, II, p. 94. 3 Ibid. Letters quoted. ONE PHASE OF THE GENET MISSION 173 justify disobedience to the orders of the nation's constituted authorities. It told the people, "that they had too long placed an implicit dependence on the impartiality and virtue of the general government;" which, however, did not at all represent the facts, the desire to trust the Govern- ment, in the matter of the navigation of the Mississippi, never having been very apparent in Kentucky or the West. The Secretary of State had written (November 6, 1793), telling him of the departure from Philadelphia, of the four French agents whose duty it was to serve France by inciting the western settlers to defy the orders of their own govern- ment, and requesting that Governor Shelby would prevent their carrying out their designs within the State of Ken- tucky. Next, the Secretary of War had empowered him, in the name of the President, to use military force if neces- sary, to prevent the contemplated breach of neutrality; at the same time pledging the United States for payment of all expense incurred in so doing. The Governor of the Northwest Territory had sent a similar warning; ^ but all alike had been disregarded. General Wayne, however, having received full infor- mation of what was transpiring in Kentucky, acted with promptness and decision, thus forcing Governor Shelby to declare his position. On January 6th, 1794, he wrote to Shelby, enclosing a letter to the commander of the United States Cavalry, stationed near Lexington, directing him to give assistance in suppressing the expedition, in case Governor Shelby should request it. He also enclosed a letter which he had received the previous month from Governor St. Clair, stating the general nature of the plans of "certain Frenchmen," and declaring that he had duly 1 Collins, I, p. 278. 174 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY informed Governor Shelby of them.^ In addition Gen- eral Wayne wrote, "should the force now offered be deemed insufficient, or should more be wanted, it shall not be withheld upon this interesting occasion, notwith- standing our proximity to the combined force of the hos- tile Indians." One week later Governor Shelby made plain his attitude toward the matter, in a letter to the Secretary of State. " I have," he declared, "great doubts even if they attempt to carry this plan into execution (provided they manage the business with prudence), whether there is any legal au- thority to restrain or to punish them, at least before they have actually accomplished it." "If," he argues, "it is lawful for any one citizen of this State to leave it, it is equally so for any number of them to do it. It is also lawful for them to carry with them any quantity of pro- visions, arms and ammunition. ... If the act is law- ful in itself there is nothing but the particular inten- tion . . . that can possibly make it unlawful, — but I know of no law which inflicts a punishment on intention only . . . ." ^ Then, in ardent language, he declined to stretch his constitutional powers, in order to oppose the plans and wishes of his friends, against an enemy and a tyrant, "a prince who openly withholds from us an invaluable right, and who secretly instigates against us a most savage and cruel enemy." This letter convinced the President that the Governor of Kentucky was not likely to take any steps toward pre- venting the contemplated breach of the peace with Spain. He therefore wisely took the matter into his own hands 1 Texts of these three letters given in Marshall, II, pp. 102-103. 2 Marshall, II, pp. 105-106 for text. ONE PHASE OF THE GENET MISSION 175 and (March 24, 1794), issued a proclamation ^ declaring: "Whereas I have received information that certain per- sons in violation of the laws, have presumed, under color of a foreign authority, to enlist citizens of the United States and others within the State of Kentucky, and have there assembled an armed force for the purpose of invading and plundering the territory of a nation at peace with the said United States, ... I have therefore thought proper to issue this proclamation, hereby solemnly warn- ing every person not authorized by the laws, against en- listing any citizen or citizens of the United States, or levy- ing troops or assembling any persons within the United States for the purpose aforesaid, or proceeding in any manner to the execution thereof, as they will answer the same at their peril." Similar wholesome advice having been given to those contemplating enlistment, "for such unlawful purposes," Washington directed General Wayne to "establish a strong military post at Fort Massac on the Ohio, and prevent b}^ force, if necessary, the descent of any hostile party down that river." In the meantime Genet's recall ^ had been diplomat- ically requested, and a sudden change in French affairs had thrown his friends, the Girondists, out of power, leaving him without support. Knowing that the fiends, who had succeeded to the leadership in France, had dis- avowed his acts, and would probably behead him if he should return, Genet wisely withdrew from public life, and, having married the daughter of Governor Clinton of New York, settled down to a life of ease and comfort. 1 Durrett MSS. 2 His successor, Fauchet, appeared in February, 1794. 176 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY Little was heard of him until his death, in 1836, when people were interested to look back through happy years of peace, and recall the stormy days of the neutrality conflict of 1793. The prompt and vigorous action of the President and the fall of Genet, the genius of the whole mad movement, completely wrecked the hopes of Clark and his followers. The "Revolutionary legions on the Mississippi River" were quickly disbanded, and citizen La Chaise announced to the Lexington Democratic Society that, "Causes un- foreseen had put a stop to the march of two thousand brave Kentuckians, who were about to go and put an end to the Spanish despotism on the Mississippi; where Frenchmen and Kentuckians, united under the banner of France, might have made one nation, the happiest in the world, so perfect was their sympathy." ^ While the foreign relations of Kentucky, as being a byplay of the foreign relations of the United States, were thus creating great excitement, her domestic affairs were arousing almost equal interest. Chief among the latter, was still the question of General Wayne and the savage tribes of the Northwest. Rumors had become current, at the opening of the new year, that the Indians would make peace, and that a campaign would be unnecessary. This idea was by no means popular in Kentucky, where the people were anxious for an opportunity to avenge the injuries already received; while those who wished to plunge the United States into war with England, saw, in this expedition, a chance to accomplish their ends. Still others hoped by it to discountenance the use of regular troops, in case the expedition should turn out disastrously, 1 Marshall, II, p. 120. ONE PHASE OF THE GENET MISSION 177 to say nothing of another defeat to lay to the credit of an administration, which a large part of the Kentucky people regarded with undisguised hatred. All idea of a bloodless peace was, however, soon dis- pelled by the reappearance, in various parts of the State, of parties of Indians, stealing horses, killing travelers, and burning cabins. The State authorities could offer little resistance, nor did the activity of individual citizens ac- complish much of a decisive character, and speculation was rife as to how General Wayne would use the author- ity given him by the Federal Government. The question was soon answered. Wayne called for volunteers from Kentucky, and sixteen hundred men, under the command of General Charles Scott, at once marched to join his army, already consisting of about that number. The British authorities in Canada were alarmed at the news of Wayne's preparations, as it was rumored that he was not averse to the idea of paying a hostile visit to some of their posts within the limits of American territory.^ This was indeed true, and for the best of reasons. From prisoners taken during the spring, Wayne had learned that the British commanders were giving the Indians every possible aid and encouragement, short of actual participa- tion in their expeditions, and he was inclined to doubt whether they refused even that assistance. He knev/ that Simcoe, acting under orders from Lord Dorchester, had recently constructed a new fort at the rapids of the Miami, and that Dorchester himself had, early in April, 1794, openly predicted war between the United States and England, before the close of the year.^ In view of this 1 Winsor's "Westward Movement," p. 453. 2 Schouler, I, p. 276. Kentucky — 12 178 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY advance, into what was confessedly American territory, Secretary Knox had instructed Wayne: "If, in the course of your operations against the Indian enemy, it should be- come necessary to dislodge the party (the English garrison at the rapids of the Miami), you are hereby authorized, in the name of the President of the United States, to do it." ^ Thus was Wayne, the "Mad Anthony" of former years, given discretionary power which placed in his hands the choice of peace or war with England; for had he ven tured to attack the fort at the Miami rapids, in all proba bility Jay's treaty would never have been signed, and our second war with England would have taken place as early as 1794. On the twenty-sixth of July, General Scott and his detachment of Kentucky volunteers entered Wayne's camp at Fort Greeneville,^ and, two days later, the army took an obscure path toward Fort Recovery. Wayne's plan was to hasten on from the latter point to the mouth of the St. Mary's River, and to surprise the important Indian vil- lages clustered there; but his efforts were abortive. A worthless Kentucky volunteer, named Newman, deserted, and revealed the plans to the Indians, who were thus enabled to leave their villages before Wayne's arrival,^ and to retire to a point at the foot of the rapids of the Miami, under the very guns of the new British fort. Wayne therefore pushed on up the river, to the mouth of the Au Glaize, where he constructed a fort, called very appropriately Fort Defiance,^ on account of its proximity 1 Stille's "Major-General Wayne and the Pennsylvania Line," p. 329. 2 Marshall, II, p. 136; Collins, I, p. 24. 3 Burnet's "Notes on the Northwestern Territory," p. 169. 4 The fort was constructed August 9, 1794. For plan of fortifications see Winsor's "Narrative and Critical History," VII, p. 452. 1 ONE PHASE OF THE GENET MISSION 179 to the British fort at the Rapids. From this point he sent his final overtures of peace to the savages, who agreed to treat, in case Wayne would promise to remain where he was for ten days. As their object was evidently to gain time for gathering their allies together, and as Miller, who bore Wayne's proposals of peace, declared that the savages were already tricked out in full war regalia, Wayne re- sumed his march toward the British fort. The distrust which had marked his appointment as Major General had now completely disappeared, and the army, regulars and volunteers alike, felt the security and confidence which comes from the knowledge that its commander is both competent and watchful. On August 19th the army halted to construct a tempo- rary post for the reception of the stores and extra baggage;^ and the next morning at eight o'clock resumed the advance, one brigade of Kentucky volunteers on the left under Brigadier General Todd; and the other in the rear under Brigadier General Barbee. A select battalion of the Ken- tucky volunteers, commanded by Major Price, moved in front of " the Legion," so as to give timely notice to form in case of action," ^ as it was as yet uncertain whether the Indians would decide for peace or war. They had advanced thus about five miles when Major Price's battahon suddenly received a severe fire from the enemy, "posted in a thick brushwood encumbered with fallen timber, the effect of a hurricane." ^ Price instantly ordered a retreat, which was made with such precipita- tion as to carry the front guard of "the Legion" with it. 1 Burnet's "Notes on the Northwestern Territory," p. 172. 2 General Wayne's report to the Secretary of War. Stille's "Major-General Wayne and the Pennsylvania Line," pp. 331-334 for full text. 3 Samuel L. Metcalf' s "Indian Wars of the West," p. 158. l8o KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY These in turn rushed into Captain Lewis' company of Hght infantry on the left, and threw them into confusion. It began to look as if the terror of the hidden savages had put an end, in a moment, to all confidence and discipline; but Captain Lewis rallied his men, after a retreat of forty yards, and advanced to the side of the right, which had stood its ground. Captain Springer's battalion of riflemen joined them, and the charge was sounded,^ "the Legion" advancing in two lines, formed principally in the region of the fallen timbers, which extended for miles on Wayne's left. " I soon discovered," wrote Wayne, in his official re- port,^ " from the weight of the fire and the extent of their line, that the enemy were in full force in front, in posses-, sion of their favorite ground, and endeavoring to turn our left flank. I therefore gave orders for the second line to advance to support the first, and directed Major-General Scott to gain and turn the right flank of the savages with the whole of the mounted volunteers." While the Kentucky troops were using every exertion to accomplish this maneuver, "the Legion" advanced "with trailed arms," roused the savages from their coverts at the point of the bayonet, and drove them in utter rout. Ere the mounted volunteers reached the point assigned to them, the day was won, and the enemy "dispersed with terror and dismay, leaving our victorious army in full and quiet possession of the field of battle, which termi- nated under the influence of the guns of the British garrison." In signaling out the heroes of this battle of Fallen Tim- 1 "A Journal of General Wayne's Campaign." Durrett MSS., unpublished. It gives a list of the daily occurrences, and is unsigned. 2 Stille's "Major-General Wayne," p. 332, for text. ONE PHASE OF THE GENET MISSION l8l bers, as history has learned to call it, Wayne, in his official report ^ gives the first place to " Brigadier-General Wilkin- son . . . whose brave example inspired the troops." Of the Kentucky volunteers he writes, "I never discovered more true spirit and anxiety for action than appeared to pervade the whole of the mounted volunteers, and I am well persuaded that, had the enemy maintained their favorite ground for one-half hour longer, they would have most severely felt the prowess of that corps." The Indians, thus disposed of, Wayne proceeded to reconnoiter the British fort, suspecting that it might have offered shelter to some of the refugees; but found no sign of any attempt to offer them succor.' There was abundant evidence, however, that the British had not only furnished the savages with ammunition, but had actually served with them in the battle.^ This close inspection angered the British commander, Major Campbell, who dispatched a curt note to Wayne declaring that he was "surprised to see an American army so far advanced in this country," ^ and demanding to know how they had the assurance to encamp under the mouths of his Majesty's 1 Wayne places the number of the enemy at about 2,000 and the number of his own troops actually engaged at about 900. The "Anonymous Journal" of the expedition (Durrett MSS.) gives the number of the enemy as about 1,500, "one-third of which are supposed to be Canadians." 2 Winsor's "Westward Movement," p. 458; Burnet's "Notes on the North- western Territory," p. 176. 3 "The loss of the enemy was more than double that of the Federal army. The woods were strewed for a considerable distance with the dead bodies of the Indians and their white auxiliaries, the latter armed with British muskets and bayonets." Wayne's "Official Report "; Stille's "Wayne," p. 333; see Burnet's "Notes on the Northwestern Territory," pp. 179-182 (note), for evidence elicited from prisoners taken by Wayne before and after the battle, relative to the extent of the British aid, etc. * " Journal of General Wayne's Campaign; " Durrett MSS. iSz KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY cannon. To which Wayne rephed ^ with spirit, "that the affair of yesterday might well inform him why this army: was encamped in its present position, and had the flying savages taken shelter under the walls of the fort, his Majesty's cannons should not have protected them." He then, in his turn, inquired why the British fort had been erected upon territory recognized as American prop- erty, and demanded its surrender. Campbell declined to comply, without orders from his superiors; but gave warn- ing that, if the insults to the British flag continued, and the Americans came within range of his guns, he would fire upon them. Both commanders, however, recognized the fact that an attack from either side would mean the instant breaking off of negotiations between the two na- tions, followed, probably, by the speedy declaration of war; and so they managed to keep the peace, in spite of the Kentucky volunteers, who showed their hatred of the British by firing their rifles within range of the fort, though not venturing to turn them against it.^ For three days and nights, Wayne's army remained "on the banks of the Miami in front of the field of battle; during which time all the houses and cornfields were con- sumed and destroyed for a considerable distance, both above and below Fort Miami, as well as within pistol shot of that garrison, who were compelled to remain tacit spectators of this general devastation and conflagration." ^ • 1 The correspondence is quoted in Burnet's " Notes on the Northwestern Territory," pp. 176-179, five letters being reproduced in full. 2 " Journal of General Wayne's Campaign; " Durrett MSS. 3 Wayne's "Official Report;" Stille's "Major-General Wayne and the Penn- sylvania Line," p. 334. "We have destroyed all the property within 100 yards of the Garrison. The volunteers were sent down eight miles below the fort and have destroyed and burnt all the possessions belonging to the Canadians and ONE PHASE OF THE GENET MISSION 183 They then retired to Fort Defiance where, apparently, mihtary discipline was temporarily relaxed, in order to allow a celebration in honor of the victory, as an anony- mous journal ^ of the campaign has this interesting entry for August 27th: "The quartermaster-General will issue one gill of whis- key to every man belonging to the Federal Army (this morning), as a small compensation for the fatigues they have undergone for several days past, . . ." Wayne supposed that another engagement would be necessary before the Indians could be brought to the point of signing a treaty, and so, after spending some time in strengthening the defences at Fort Defiance, he proceeded up the River Miami to the mouth of the St. Mary's, where he arrived on September 17th. Here he began the con- struction of a fort, to be called Fort Wayne, the volunteers consenting to work on it only upon condition of receiving " three gills of whiskey per man per day," ^ the result of which unmilitary bargain appears in the entry for the next day (October 7th): "The Volunteers are soon tired of work, and have refused to labor any longer; they have stolen and killed 17 beeves in the course of these two days past." Such being the conduct of the mounted volunteers, it does not astonish us to learn that, when news came, a few days later, that Girty and McKee, Brandt, Little Turtle, Simcoe, and other leading counsellors of the Northwestern tribes,^ were gathering at the mouth of the Detroit River, eager to begin negotiations for peace, Wayne ordered "the savages." Entry of August 22, 1794, in a "Journal of General Wayne's Cam- paign;" Durrett MSS. 1 "A Journal of General Wayne's Campaign;" Durrett MSS. 2 Ibid. 3 Burnet's "Notes on the Northwestern Territory," p. 183. 184 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY mounted volunteers of Kentucky marched off for Greene- ville, to be mustered and dismissed . . . there being no further service" for them.^ On October 15th, they returned to their homes, flushed with the glory of a successful campaign, and fully con- vinced that regulars were not so bad a source of defence for the frontier as they had supposed. General Wayne and his regulars retired to Fort Greene- ville for the winter, and entered upon the long and tedious negotiations which finally resulted in the treaty of that name ^ (August 3, 1795), by which the Northwestern tribes surrendered all claims south of the Ohio River. ^ 1 " Journal of General Wayne's Campaign; " Durrett MSS. 2 Full details of the negotiations, Burnet's "Notes on the Northwestern Ter- ritory," Chs. 10-12. 3 Butler, p. 239. CHAPTER VII CONFLICTS OVER THE COMMERCIAL HIGHWAY OF THE WEST The anti-federal sentiment in Kentucky, which had been pronounced from the first, had, as we have seen, been measurably weakened by the successful termination of Wayne's expedition against the Indian country, as that expedition had shown not only the good intention, but the admirable efficiency, of the new government. Two serious obstacles, however, still stood in the way of the creation of a strong and loyal feeling for the central gov- ernment. As long as the British were allowed to keep possession of the military posts in the Northwest, and as long as Spain was permitted to impede the progress of the West, by interfering with the free use of the Mississippi River, so long might the Federal Government expect unstinted abuse from the Kentucky people. She might achieve limitless glory and success, in other directions, but these were the questions which concerned the daily life and present safety of Kentucky, and Kentucky's estimate of the government depended, in the last analysis, upon her solution of them. The satisfactory adjustment of these questions was, indeed, a pretty fair test of the govern- ment's efficiency, for England was not inclined to treat her treaty obligations with any great consideration, being well aware that the United States had also failed to carry out certain, not less important, features of the treaty. Spain also felt that she had been unfairly dealt with, as i8s 1 86 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY England and the United States had agreed upon a secret clause in the treaty, providing that the Yazoo Creek should be the Northern boundary of West Florida, in case England should succeed in holding it, but the thirty-first parallel in case West Florida should go to Spain. ^ Flis Catholic Majesty was, therefore, in no mood to grant con- cessions to the new republic, more especially as he still hoped to use his control over the Mississippi River as a lever to cut oflF the western settlements from the Union, and to annex them to his own vast dominions in America. Of these two matters, the question of the free naviga- tion of the Mississippi was of much the greater import- ance to Kentucky, especially after Wayne's victory had checked the Indian hostilities along her borders. The fact, therefore, that the Federal Government found it necessary to arrange affairs with England first, was exceedingly dis- tasteful to the Kentuckians. They felt that a war against Great Britain would open to them the opportunity of forcibly assuming control of the Mississippi; while a war with France, which seemed the alternative, had not this attraction. The enthusiasm with which Genet's agents had been received in the western country, the organiza- tion of the Democratic clubs, and the creation of George Rogers Clark's " Revolutionary Legions on the Missis- sippi," had all indicated this feeling. There were few of the more reputable sort, it is true, who had been willing to go the length of entirely supporting Genet; but his actions had been disavowed by France, and, under the wise management of his successor, Fauchet, French en- thusiasm had reawakened, and, with it, an intensified hatred of the British. 1 Fiske's "Critical Period of American History," pp. 33, 208. COMMERCIAL HIGHWAY OF THE WEST 187 Under these conditions, the wise pohcy for England would have been to conciliate America, but England has never known much about conciliation. As she saw the enthusiasm for France reasserting itself throughout the States, her natural conclusion was that these two countries were preparing to form another alliance against her, and, as if to show how little she cared for such an alliance, she at once began a course of aggression against our commerce, which daily added strength to the French party in America, and soon brought us to a point where a declaration of war against her seemed almost inevitable. This prospect was most pleasing to the people of Kentucky. Their consternation and anger were, therefore, intense, when news came that Washington had determined, if possible, to avert the war, by sending an envoy to England, for the purpose of attempting to negotiate a treaty; and this anger was heightened into rage, when the name of the envoy was made known. Chief Justice John Jay was regarded by Kentuckians as an arch conspirator against the interest of the western country. They had never forgotten the proposition, made by him in the summer of 1785, to concede to Spain, for a period of twenty-five years,^ the control of the Mississippi River, in return for certain commercial concessions which would have benefited the Eastern States alone, and his ap- pointment was regarded in Kentucky as a direct, and de- liberate insult from the Federal Government. On May 24, 1794, before Jay was halfway across the Atlantic, a large 1 The object of this, wrote Monroe to Governor Henry of Virginia, "is to' break up the settlements on the western waters . . . so as to throw the weight of the population eastward and keep it there, to appreciate the vacant lands in New York and Massachusetts," (Quoted in Dixon's "Missouri Compromise and its Repeal," p. 38). 1 88 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY public meeting was held at Lexington, representing various parts of the State, and bent upon expressing the indignation of the Commonwealth. After an impassioned discussion, a set of resolutions was drawn up and delivered to the " Kentucky Gazette " for publication.^ Going straight to the point upon which the greatest interest was felt, these resolutions read as though Jay had been sent out with the express purpose of resigning all claims to the control of the Mississippi. They declare, in the first section, "That the inhabitants West of the Appalachian Moun- tains are entitled by nature and by stipulation to the free and undisturbed navigation of the River Mississippi. "That we have a right to expect and demand that Spain should be compelled immediately to acknowledg^e our right, or that an end be put to all negotiations on that sub- ject. "That the injuries and insults done and offered by Great Britain to America call loudly for redress, and that we will to the utmost of our abilities support the General Government in any attempt to obtain redress. "That the recent appointment of the enemy of the West- ern Country to negotiate with that nation, and the tame submission of the General Government when we alone were injured by Great Britain, make it highly necessary that we should at this time state our just demands to the President and Congress." ^ The same number of the " Gazette " reports, with evi- dent satisfaction, certain overt insults offered to the envoy 1 Full text of the Resolutions in "Kentucky Gazette," May 31, 1794. 2 For an impassioned statement of the causes of this hatred of Jay in Ken- tucky Cf. "Kentucky Gazette," January 25, 1794; also February 8, 1794. See also Littell's "Political Transactions," Ch. IV. COMMERCIAL HIGHWAY OF THE WEST 189 in Lexington, beginning the account with the following poetic effusion: " Suppose you had a wound and one had show'd An herb which you apply'd but found no good, Would you grow fond of this, increase your pain And use the poisonous medicine again ? "The late appointment of John Jay as envoy extraor- dinary to the Court of London, brought so strongly to the recollection of the people of this country his former iniquitous attempt to barter away their most valuable right, that they could not refrain from openly testifying their abhorrence of the man whose appointment at this critical period of their affairs they consider as tragically ominous. Although they have not forgotten, nor even faintly remembered, his former act of treason against them, yet they hoped from the office he filled, he was in as harmless a situation as he could be placed, and that no effort of power or policy could drag him forward so long as he held this office,^ and set him once more to chaffer- ing with our rights. With these impressions, a number of respectable citizens of this place and its vicinity, on Satur- day last (May 14), ordered a likeness of this evil genius of Western America to be [made] which was soon well exe- cuted. At the appointed hour he was ushered forth from a barber's shop, amidst the shouts of the people, dressed in a courtly manner, and placed erect on the platform of the pillory. In his right hand he held uplifted, a rod of iron. In his left he held extended Swift's late speech in 1 This expression indicates how little importance was attached to the ofi&ce of Chief Justice of the United States, before the days of John Marshall, "the Great Chief Justice." 190 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY Congress on the subject of British depredation. On one side of which was written: ' N emo repente fuit turpissimus.' — Juv., 'Sat.,' 2, V, p. 33. 'No man e'er reached the heights of vice at first.' "And on the other: 'Non deficit alter.' — ^Virg., ' JEn.,' 6. 'A second is not wanting.' " About his neck was suspended by a hempen string, 'Adam's defence of the American Constitution'; on the cover of which was written : ' Scribere jusstt aurum.' — Ov., 'Ep.' 'Gold bade me write.' " After exhibiting him in this condition for some time, he was ordered to be guillotined, which was soon dexterously executed, and a flame instantly applied to him, which, finding its way to a quantity of powder which was lodged in his body, produced such an explosion that after it there was scarcely to be found a particle of the disjecti membra Plenipo." ^ These are but examples of the insults which were heaped upon the name of the noble envoy, by the people of Ken- tucky, even before he had reached the scene of his diplo- matic mission. They had not waited to discover what sort of a treaty he would propose; it was enough for them to know that, if the mission should prove successful, a French alliance and a war against England would be averted. They did not stop to consider that one point, which Jay's instructions required of him, was to secure the surrender of the Northwest posts; their sole idea being that, as the enemy of the West, he could be depended upon to negotiate a treaty which would injure them. 1 "Kentucky Gazette," May 31, 1794. COMMERCIAL HIGHWAY OF THE WEST 191 Meanwhile Jay was exerting all his faculties to secure the utmost concessions from England. His success, though not perfect, satisfied Washington and the friends of the ad- ministration, and the Senate, after making a few changes which England at once accepted, ratified the treaty. Washington had carefully withheld its contents from the public, having heard rumors that the British ministry had renewed its irritating aggressions upon our commerce, even while the treaty was in process of ratification; but the mis- guided zeal of a Southern Senator made public the text.^ It was printed, in pamphlet form, by Benjamin Franklin Bache, editor of the "Aurora," and was at once copied by the newspapers and spread broadcast over the country. Then the attacks, which had been based upon its probable contents, began in earnest, upon its actual provisions. The "Kentucky Gazette" of August i, 1795, contained the full text of the treaty; and when it became known that Humphrey Marshall, one of Kentucky's Senators, had dared to vote for its ratification, his action was regarded, among his constituency, as a gross violation of duty, and an attempt was made, at the succeeding session of the Kentucky Legislature, to instruct him by name to oppose it, should it again come before the Senate. This instruc- tion was, after some discussion, made slightly less insult- ing by declaring that both the Kentucky Senators should oppose the treaty at any subsequent opportunity. How- ever, as Mr. Marshall Vv^rites in his History, the acceptance by England of the amendment^ which the Senate had pro- posed in the treaty, made it unnecessary for the Senate again to act upon it, which fact, he curtly explains,^ " saved 1 Schouler, I, p. 295; McMaster, II, p. 216. 3 "History of Kentucky," II, p. 172. 192 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY the erratic Senator from another offence : ^ . . . for certain it is, that with the impressions, under the influence of which he acted, he would have disobeyed the instructions." ^ Marshall's stand was one which required the utmost courage. He stood alone among his fellow-Kentuckians of prominence, "the only advocate in this State," as a hostile antagonist declared, "of that most infamous production." '^ And yet he was right, and his numerous antagonists wrong. It would be hard to find a serious student of our his- tory, at the present day, who would deny that Jay's Treaty, though by no means perfect, was the best which could have been hoped for, and was, moreover, of great advantage to the country at large, and to Kentucky in particular. In the first place, it enabled the government honorably to avoid a war with Great Britain, which would have brought about the renewed organization of the hostile Indian tribes, for massacre and plunder along the Ken- tucky frontier: and secondly, it provided for the removal, although the too leisurely removal, of British "troops and garrisons, from all posts and places within the boundary lines assigned by the treaty of peace to the United States," including, of course, those ancient sources of Kentucky's 1 Marshall's views on the treaty are fully set forth in a series of articles pub- lished in the "Kentucky Gazette," beginning in September, 1795, and running well into the next year. These articles, with the replies called forth by them, constitute the most elaborate debate which had yet appeared in the newspapers of the commonwealth. They show how deeply interested, in the details of this treaty, were the inhabitants of the Western country. 2 "Kentucky Gazette," October 3, 1795, contains the resolutions of a Mer- cer County mass meeting, declaring that Marshall had, "betrayed the trust re- posed in him by voting for the conditional ratification of the treaty," and sug- gesting that the Legislature instruct the Kentucky members of Congress to propose an amendment to the Federal Constitution, making it lawful for two- thirds of a State Senate to recall the United States Senators at any time. 3 "Kentucky Gazette," October 10, 1795. COMMERCIAL HIGHWAY OF THE WEST 193 misery, the Northwest posts. June, 1796, was assigned as the date, on or before which these removals should take place, and it represented the greatest concession that England could be induced to grant on this long disputed question. The outcry against the treaty, even after its approval by the Senate, was fierce in the strongly Democratic re- gions of Kentucky. A meeting of free citizens of Clark County ventured to send a petition and remonstrance to the President, with the hope of helping to prevent his sign- ing it. "Should you, sir! " ran the petition, "concur with the Senate in the signature of that treaty, our prognostica- tion is, that Western America is gone forever . . . lost to the Union, and grasped by the voracious clutches of that insatiable and iniquitous George, the Third, of Britain." ^ In the " Political Creed of a Western American," ^ reap- pears the tendency, before manifested, to insult everyone who showed any disposition to favor the treaty. "I be- lieve," it reads, "that the treaty formed by Jay and the British King, is the offspring of a vile aristocratic few, who are enemies to the equality of man, friends to no govern- ment, but that whose funds they can convert to their pri- vate emolument. ... I believe that the political dotage of our good old American Chief has arrived; ... I do sin- cerely believe (from a knowledge of the man), that the Senator from Kentucky, who voted in favor of the treaty, was actuated by motives the most dishonorable . . . that he is a stranger to virtue, either private or public, and that he would sell his country for a price, easily to be told. "I do also believe that Kentucky has as little reason to 1 "Kentucky Gazette," September 19, 1795. ' Ibid., September 26, 1795. Kentucky — 13 194 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY complain on this important occasion, as any of her sister States; as she had a perfect knowledge of the character of the man she delegated to represent her, knew that he possessed a soul incapable of good, and sentiments op- posed ... to her interest." ^ Washington, meanwhile, having satisfied himself that the alarming rumors which had caused him to hesitate, were false, signed the treaty, ^ which thus became the law of the land. But even now the opposition could not submit, and a daring plan was formed to nullify the treaty in the national House of Representatives, by declining to appropriate the money necessary to carry out its provisions. This plan was happily defeated, largely through a masterly speech of Fisher Ames, made before the Committee of the Whole, which ranks as one of America's greatest forensic and oratorical triumphs.^ In his next message to the Kentucky Legislature, Gov- ernor Shelby proceeded to show that he, at least, did not even yet consider the incident closed. "I should not discharge the duty I owe my country," he said, " . . . if I did not call your attention to the treaty lately concluded between America and Great Britain. If this treaty contained stipulations which were only con- trary to good policy, although it would be the undoubted right of the State Legislatures to express their opinions of those stipulations, it might be a matter of doubt whether 1 A systematic defence of the treaty, article by article, was made in the " Ken- tucky Gazette" of October, 1795, but people were swayed by emotions and did not readily listen to reason. 2 For the documents relating to the ratification, see " Kentucky Gazette," March 26, 1796. ' "Works of Fisher Ames," II, pp. 37-71. COMMERCIAL HIGHWAY OF THE WEST 195 it would be expedient for them to do so. But as many stipulations contained in this treaty are evidently con- trary to the Constitution of the General Government, I consider it as the indispensable duty of the State Legisla- tures to express their sentiments upon such parts of the treaty as are unconstitutional, with the firmness and de- cency becoming the representatives of freemen. If you view this important question in the same light as I do, I have no doubt but that you will act upon it in such a man- ner as will do honor to yourselves and our constituents." ^ This somewhat radical recommendation, looking un- mistakably in the direction of nullification of a funda- mental federal law, was fortunately neglected by the Legislature, and, as the time fixed by the treaty for the evacuation of the Northwest posts approached, the Ken- tucky people began to realize that at last the Federal Government had adjusted one of their burdens, and to feel that Jay's treaty was perhaps not wholly bad after all. On May 10, 1796, Secretary of War McHenry arranged with Dorchester for the transfer of the long disputed forts, and, a few days later, orders were issued to the British commanders to evacuate them.' Thus, at last, the govern- ment relieved the Kentucky people of the most persistent abetters of their savage enemy, and, before the outcry against the great patriots, Jay and Washington, had fairly died away, Kentucky had begun to enjoy the blessings of the lasting peace, caused by Jay's treaty. Meanwhile, the Federal Government had turned its attention to the other great need of her Western citizens, 1 "Kentucky Gazette," November 28, 1795. 2 Winsor's "Westward Movement," p. 482. 196 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY the navigation of the Mississippi River. From the days of the first settlements in Kentucky, this question had been regarded as vital to progress, and almost essential to ex- istence upon the Western frontier, and out of it had sprung those foreign intrigues which darken the pages of Kentucky's early history. It was this question which led Wilkinson into his first aberration from the duty which he owed his adopted home in the West, and which induced Clark and his followers to lend their influence to Genet's schemes for forcing America to join France against the British-Spanish Alliance. The interference of the Federal Government, upon that occasion, had been productive of much unpatriotic language in the West, and men had settled down to endure the tyranny of Spanish laws over their commerce, with anything but contented spirits. What those Spanish laws, in restraint of Kentucky commerce, were, is briefly indicated by the newspaper articles of the day, of which the following extract ^ is an example. "How long will America submit to the opera- tion of paying a heavy, degrading tribute to a Spanish officer, for a license (in his power ever to deny) to proceed to sea with their vessels and produce, and under restric- tions of making such vessels Spanish bottoms. . . . .? If they wish to export their produce they must not only make use of the most humble solicitations, but they are compelled besides to pay a very high duty for the permis- sion of sailing out of the Mississippi under the colors of a foreign nation at war with our allies. How degrading such restrictions! How humiliating to an American! " It is easy to foresee what will be the consequences, if a treaty be not soon, and very soon, negotiated with 1 From the "Kentucky Gazette," October 12, 1793. COMMERCIAL HIGHWAY OF THE WEST 197 Spain . . . QuosQUE tandem, hispania, abuteris pa- TIENTIA NOSTRA ? " In the same issue of the "Gazette" appears a spirited resolution of the Lexington Democratic Society: "Resolved, that the free and undisturbed use and navigation of the River Miss, is the natural right of the Citizens of this Commonwealth; and is inalienable except with the soil; and that neither time, tyranny nor prescription on the one side, nor acquiescence, weakness or non-use on the other can ever sanctify the abuse of this right." 1 A few weeks later the same Democratic Society pub- lished its view of the steps to be taken, under the circum- stances then existing: "It will be proper to make an at- tempt in a peaceable manner to go with an American bottom properly registered and cleared into the sea through the channel of this Mississippi, that we may either pro- cure an immediate acknowledgment of our right from the Spaniards; or, if they obstruct us in the enjoyment of that right, that we may be able to lay before the Federal Gov- ernment such unequivocal proofs of their having done so, that they will be compelled to say whether they will aban- don or protect the inhabitants of the Western country." ^ Whether this suggestion was actually carried out, we do not know, but the agitation continued, and the Federal Government was besieged by demands that she do for the West what she had prevented their doing for themselves; and, when no immediate response was returned, the Ken- tucky Legislature proceeded (on December 20, 1794), to instruct her representatives in the United States Senate, 1 Passed October 7, 1793. "Kentucky Gazette," October 12, 1793. * "Kentucky Gazette," November 11, 1793. [ 198 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY "to require information of the steps which have been taken to obtain the navigation of the Mississippi, and to transmit such information to the Executive of this State." ^ It then appeared that the Federal Government had (November 24, 1794) commissioned Thomas Pinckney as envoy to Madrid, with instructions to negotiate a treaty securing the free navigation of the Mississippi,^ and when even this news did not silence the outcry from Kentucky, the United States Senate took the unusual course of pass- ing a resolution providing: "That the President of the United States be, and he hereby is, requested to cause to be communicated to the Executive of the State of Kentucky, such part of the ex- isting negotiation between the United States and Spain, relative to this subject, as he may deem advisable and consistent with the course of negotiations." ^ Accordingly, the President appointed James Innes, " a Special Commissioner to detail a faithful history of the negotiations pending between the United States and the Court of Madrid respecting the navigation of the Missis- sippi." The announcement of his appointment was made by a letter from Edmund Randolph, Secretary of State, to " His Excellency, the Governor of Kentucky," in which occur these words: "In this step your Excellency will discern a further proof of the anxiety of the President to remove all grounds 1 "Kentucky Gazette," February 7, 1795. 2 Innes to Shelby: "Kentucky Gazette," March 14, 1795. Thomas Jeffer- son had been the President's first choice for this mission and, upon his decHn- ing, Patrick Henry had been asked to serve, but had pleaded age and infirmity as his reasons for declining. See also Fuller's "Purchase of Florida," p. 67; and Winsor's "Westward Movement," p. 548. 3 "Kentucky Gazette," March 14, 1795. COMMERCIAL HIGHWAY OF THE WEST 199 of dissatisfaction: and indeed, sir, I cannot pass by this occasion of asserting my persuasion that, after the most ample disclosure of the public conduct respecting the Mississippi, you will find that nothing has been left un- attempted by him, which his powers, his exertions, and the situation of our country would permit." ^ Innes' first communication of the details of the nego- tiations was an elaborate synopsis of the entire situation.- He pointed out the fact that Spain had always ranged herself rather with the enemies than with the friends of the United States; that, even during the Revolution, al- though joining France against England, she had "made no formal recognition of the independence of the United States;" and that, in spite of all negotiation, she had never consented to a "pact or treaty of any kind" with us. He then described the conditions under which Pinckney was appointed, and called attention to the fact that the President had decided not to, "enter into any commercial relations with the Court of Madrid, 'until our right to the free use of the Mississippi shall be most unequivocally ac- knowledged and established, on principles never hereafter to be drawn into contestation.' " Besides the free navigation of the Mississippi, which Pinckney's instructions required him to secure at once, on account of the impatience and hostility of the Kentuck- ians,^ he was expected to gain two other important con- cessions. He was directed to secure a port of deposit within Spanish possessions at the mouth of the Mississippi, 1 Full texts, "Kentucky Gazette," March 14, 1795. 2 Dated February 15, 1795. Text in "Kentucky Gazette," March 14, 1795. 3 Fuller's "Purchase of Florida," p. 67. Spain freely admitted that this was ours by right. Ibid., p. 72. 200 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY without which the free navigation would have been com- paratively valueless;^ and to persuade Spain to accept the thirty-first meridian as the northern boundary of her West Florida possessions, instead of a line running East from the mouth of the Yazoo Creek, which she claimed as her right. Pinckney reached Madrid, June 28, 1795, but it was August loth before he was permitted to lay his proposi- tions before the representatives of the King, and even then, negotiations dragged heavily, the Spanish representative claiming that the United States should pay for the right of navigation, and Pinckney insisting that the United States would never consent to pay for a right which was already legally hers, citing as authority the Peace of 1783. It was while these negotiations were in progress that the last Spanish intrigue to separate Kentucky from the Fed- eral Union developed. Carondelet, the Spanish Governor of the Louisiana territory, determined to make one more effort to take advantage of the restless distrust which he believed to exist in Kentucky, concerning the good faith of the Federal Government. It was obvious that the com- mercial interests of Kentucky were more nearly akin to those of Louisiana than to those of the Eastern States. The wealth of the West and of Louisiana, was easily ac- cessible to Kentuckians, if only they could have free use of the Mississippi, and free deposit at its mouth; while the American markets beyond the Alleghanies, were as yet almost inaccessible during a large part of the year.^ It 1 James Innes to Gov. Isaac Shelby, "Kentucky Gazette," March 14, 1795. 2 As late as January 12, 1798, Sam. Brown wrote to his brother, John, who was attending Congress at Philadelphia, "... I hope we may, with some de- gree of certainty, count on receiving weekly irrformation from the Atlantic States." Brown MSS. COMMERCIAL HIGHWAY OF THE WEST 201 was, therefore, natural for the Governor of Louisiana to suppose that self-interest would lead the Kentucky people to accept Spanish advances, disown their connection with the distant and unsympathetic Federal Government, and enjoy the fruits of their natural connection with the power which controlled their only commercial highway. It was a scheme founded upon sound commercial facts, but it failed to take into account one important item. The people of Kentucky were proud of the possession of liberty, and were always most complacent when comparing their freedom with the servile condition of the French Creoles. Had Carondelet been able to appreciate this fact, he would have seen at once the utter futility of his schemes. As it was, he acted upon his own conception of the situation, and, in June, 1795, addressed a letter to Judge Sebastian, an ex-Episcopal clergyman, British born, and none too loyal to his adopted country, who had worked himself into the responsible position of a judge of the Supreme Court of Kentucky. In this letter Carondelet offered to send Colonel Gayoso to New Madrid, to meet such men as Sebastian might send thither, for the purpose of talking over the question of the Mississippi; ^ and later, in July of the same year, he dispatched Thomas Power with a second communication to Sebastian, in which he writes: "The confidence imposed in you by my predecessor. Brigadier General Miro, and your former correspondence, have in- duced me to make a communication to you, highly inter- esting to the country in which you live and to Louisiana." After describing the Spanish Monarch as willing to grant the Kentucky claim to free navigation of the Mississippi, and, as "desirous to establish certain regulations recipro- 1 Winsor's "Westward Movement," p. 553. 202 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY cally beneficial to the commerce of both countries," ^ the writer asks Sebastian to, "procure agents to be chosen and fully empowered by the people of your country to negotiate with Colonel Gayoso on the subject, at New Madrid . . . in October next." Sebastian having considered the proposition, decided to look into the question farther, and arranged that Judge i Innis ^ should meet him at the house of Colonel Nicholas, in Mercer County, to consider what steps should be taken by way of preliminary investigation. They agreed that Sebastian should meet Gayoso and ascertain exactly what Spain wanted, and what con- cessions she was willing to make to Kentucky. Accord- ingly, with no authority from either the government or the people of Kentucky, he descended the Ohio, and opened negotiations with Gayoso: but they soon disa- greed and, in order to settle the points in dispute, repaired to New Orleans and laid them before the Spanish Governor himself. Carondelet at once offered to grant to Kentucky liberal concessions in the matter of import duties: but, be- fore any definite agreement was entered into, news reached New Orleans that Pinckney's negotiations, after dragging along for four months, had suddenly proved successful, and that, on October 27, 1795,^ a treaty had been signed at San Lorenzo el Real, which yielded practically everything which the United States had desired. The boundary question had been settled so as to fix the thirty-first parallel as the line separating the United States i * Butler, p. 344, for extracts from this correspondence. 2 Cf . Articles in "Western World," signed "Voice in the West," Marshall, II, p. 445- 3 "Kentucky Gazette," March 26, 1796. Treaty text, see Snow's "American Diplomacy," p. 106. COMMERCIAL HIGHWAY OF THE WEST 203 from the Florida territories. The middle of the channel of the Mississippi River had been declared the western boundary of the United States, and the treaty further stated (Article 4), that, " His Catholic Majesty has likewise agreed that the navigation of the said river, in its whole breadth, from its source to the ocean, shall be free only to his subjects, and the citizens of the United States, unless he should extend this privilege to the subjects of other powers by special convention." Of the other articles, the eighth applied most closely to the needs of the people of the West, as, it gave to them and to all citizens of the United States, the right to deposit their goods in New Orleans, and to export them thence without paying any duty, other than a fair price for storage. This right was to continue for three years, the King agreeing to assign an equivalent port, in case he should see fit to refuse the privilege for New Orleans, after the expiration of the specified time. "There can be no doubt," wrote one of the Senators from Kentucky, in communicating the provisions of the treaty, "but that the Senate will advise and consent to the ratification of the treaty, which presents such important advantages to the Western Country;" ^ and apparently the Spanish officials were of the same opinion, for they promptly informed Judge Sebastian that any further ne- gotiations with him were out of the question. Sebastian, after vainly urging the Governor to continue negotiations, returned to Kentucky to await developments, hoping against hope that the new treaty would fail of ratification. So far as the formal action of the two nations was con- cerned, his hopes were soon blasted. Ratifications were ex- changed at Aranjuez, on April 25, 1796, and, on August 2, 1" Kentucky Gazette," March 26, 1796. 204 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY by Presidential proclamation, the treaty became the law of the land. However, the fact that Spain had unaccountably (dur- ing the last three days of the negotiations), yielded to Pinckney the points which she had, for four months, stub- bornly denied, soon raised the question as to whether she was sincere in the transaction. Both Hamilton and Pinck- ney thought that her change of attitude had been due to her belief that Jay's treaty pointed to a close alliance be- tween England and the United States, with perhaps a joint declaration of war against France and Spain; and that, this proving untrue, she would refuse to carry out her agreement with the United States. But, whatever the cause which had induced Spain to make concessions, the actions of the Spanish authorities of Louisiana soon convinced the watchful Sebastian that the treaty was not going to be carried into effect. In- deed, Gayoso openly boasted that its concessions would never become operative, and Carondelet, after a brief de- lay, proceeded to reopen negotiations with Sebastian, this time making his propositions unequivocal, as he felt cer- tain that the man to whom he spoke could be trusted, where his own reward was assured. Thomas Power, the medium of the former negotiations, was dispatched to Louisville (summer, 1797), to convey to Sebastian a letter from Carondelet,^ asking that he consider its contents, and then call together his friends, Innis, Nicholas and Murray, to decide upon them. The definite propositions, thus to be laid before these four men, were : ^ (i) These gentlemen, "are immediately to exert all 1 Butler, p. 246. 2 Text of the Proposals, Marshall, II, pp. 220-222. COMMERCIAL HIGHWAY OF THE WEST 205 their influence in impressing on the minds of the inhabi- tants of the Western Country, a conviction of the necessity of their withdrawing themselves from the Federal Union and forming an independent government. . . . : " while, in order to compensate them for the loss of time, and the expenditure of energy required in this important work, Carondelet was to deliver to them the sum of one hun- dred thousand dollars, and to pay, in addition, to anyone who should forfeit a public office by this service, a sum, "equal at least to the emoluments of the office." (2) The second article proposed that, as soon as a decla- ration of Independence should have been issued. Fort Massac should be seized and held by the troops furnished by the Spanish King, who agreed to supply, at this point in the Revolution, an additional one hundred thousand dollars, for the expense of the enterprise. (3) Spain's compensation for her aid to the proposed revolution, is pointed out in the third article. She was to have, as the Northern boundary of the Floridas, a line starting, "on the Mississippi, at the mouth of the River Yazoo. . . ." In other words, with the help of Kentucky, she would disregard the agreement made in the Pinckney treaty, and return to her old claim which had been definitely abandoned when that treaty was ratified. His Catholic Majesty further proposed to defend the new na- tion against the Indian tribes South of the Ohio, and to aid in reducing the latter to the condition of dependents and subjects, in case the new nation should, in future, con- sider such a course desirable. He also pledged his honor not to interfere, "directly or indirectly," in the framing of a Constitution or laws for the new nation, and to "de- fend and support it, in preserving its independence." 2o6 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY Such were the inducements which Power laid before Judge Sebastian, and he stated, in addition, that he would gladly present to his master any objections which the Ken- tuckians might have to the propositions, and that he de- sired them to feel that their wishes would be favorably considered. The crowning temptation was the promise that, if they should separate from the Union and form an independent State, as above indicated, Spain would grant them greater privileges and advantages than they could possibly hope for, even if Pinckney's treaty should be fully carried out in all of its details. Armed with this dangerous communication, the very consideration of which stamps him as a traitor to his adopted country, Sebastian paid a visit to Judge Innis at his home near Frankfort, while Power passed on to Detroit to ascertain whether James Wilkinson, now General-in- Chief of the American army, was still in a humor for Spanish intrigue. Innis, after hearing what Sebastian had to say, de- clared the project to be dangerous, and refused to coun- tenance it. Sebastian professed to entertain the same views, but persuaded Innis to consult Colonel Nicholas before the final answer should be sent to Power. Nich- olas' opinion was also decidedly against entering into any such treasonable project, and it was he who drafted the reply to Power, declaring that they, "would not be con- cerned ... in any attempt ... to separate the West- ern Country from the United States." It added also that they believed the Federal Government would look out for their interests in the important matter of the navigation of the Mississippi, and that, in any event, it was obviously for the best interest of Spain to encourage free inter- COMMERCIAL HIGHWAY OF THE WEST 207 course between her American subjects and the inhabitants of the western parts of the United States.^ Up to this point, therefore, it is fair to say, with Butler, that, "the whole tenor of the conduct of Messrs. Innis and Nicholas cannot justify the slightest suspicion of their fidelity to the Union of the American States." ^ The same cannot, however, be said of General Wilkin- son. In spite of the high command with which he had been honored by the Federal Government, he was as ready as ever to intrigue for his own ends, and as cunning as ever in covering his tracks. Power arrived in the neighborhood of Detroit on August 16, and Wilkinson gave him the desired interviev/, but showed at once that his fears had been aroused by the news of President Adams' recent order to the Governor of the Northwestern Terri- tory, to watch for Power and send him to Philadelphia for investigation. As investigation was what General Wil- kinson desired to avoid, he hastily informed Power that he must permit himself "to be conducted immediately, under a guard, to Fort Massac, and from there to New Madrid." ' Wilkinson's conduct in this matter reminds one strongly of his dealings with Burr a few years later. Although he had long enjoyed the doubtful honor of leadership in the Spanish intrigues in the West, he now declared such projects chimerical, insisting that, as the inhabitants of the West had gained, by means of Pinckney's treaty, 1 Mr. Marshall labors hard to implicate Innis and Nicholas with Sebastian and Wilkinson in this conspiracy, but fails to bring forward convincing proof. Even he, however, admits that Murray was not implicated, as the communica- tion was not presented to him. Marshall, II, p. 223. 2 Butler, p. 248; Marshall, II, pp. 224-225, takes opposite view. 3 Winsor's "Westward Movement," pp. 567-568. 2o8 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY all that they wanted, they would not consent to form any commercial alliances, or to consider the question of separating themselves from the Union of States, even under the most tempting conditions. In his opinion Spain could do nothing but surrender the territory abandoned by that treaty. He said that he had known for some time that Spain would not voluntarily carry out the stipulations of the treaty, but that she would be forced to do so; add- ing, however, that he expected soon to be appointed Mili- tary Governor of Natchez, and would then, perhaps, be in a position to carry out the projects, which for the pres- ent had been frustrated by the conclusion of the treaty. With Wilkinson it was a double treason. In intention, at least, he had long been an enemy to the Union which he was supposed to serve: but he knew that the spirit of Wayne still pervaded the army which he had the un- merited honor to command, and that, upon any sign of treachery to the United States, his own officers and men would be the first to denounce him. He showed his sympathy, or perhaps his instinct of self-preservation, by conducting the Spanish agent beyond the danger of arrest, while his refusal to accept Power's advances served only to show that he considered the time for treachery to be ill chosen. But even while Power and Wilkinson discussed the failure of their plans, Andrew Ellicott was endeavoring to carry out the orders of the President, to survey the boundary lines agreed upon in Pinckney's treaty. On Feb- ruary 24, 1797, he had reached Natchez, and had de- manded to know why the forts had not been evacuated.^ 1 "Kentucky Gazette," July 5 and 12, 1797, gives the details of his difl5- culties. COMMERCIAL HIGHWAY OF THE WEST 209 Gayoso, who was in command, had replied that the evac- uation had been delayed for want of suitable vessels; but, on March i, Carondelet himself had arrived and declared that the forts could not be given up until he should be in- formed from Madrid whether they were to be surrendered as they stood, or should be first dismantled.^ This was obviously a pretext, and the real reason of Spain's sudden anxiety to retain the forts soon appeared. England and Spain had declared war upon one another, and it was rumored that a British expedition was shortly to start from Canada, for the invasion of Louisiana. In September, Ellicott received from the Federal Govern- ment as precise information concerning this projected expedition as could be furnished under the circumstances. He was informed that the British plans included an at- tempt to join the West in alliance with England against Spain,^and that Colonel William Blount, of Tennessee, had been convicted of complicity in the plot, and had (July 8, 1797) been expelled from the United States Senate, with only one dissenting voice. The scheme, as matured, was that a British fleet should ascend the Mississippi, and cooperate with an army of four thousand frontiersmen, under the direction of Blount and Orr of Tennessee, Whitely of Kentucky, and cer- tain others, among whom was a Captain Chesholm, vaguely referred to in the letter which had convicted Blount.^ The real object of England was doubtless to prevent the 1 Message of John Adams, June 12, 1797, published in "Kentucky Ga- zette," July 5, 1797. 2 Winsor's "Westward Movement," p. 568. 3 Copy of the letter from Blount to Carey, dated Colonel King's Iron Works, April 21, 1797, in G. S. Taft's "Senate Election Cases," pp. 76-77. Kentucky — 14 210 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY wily French minister, Talleyrand,^ from consummating a plan for securing possession of Florida and Louisiana; but whatever it was, the United States did not consider it sufficient cause to justify Spain in refusing to live up to the terms of the recent Pinckney treaty. In December Ellicott's little force in Natchez was increased by a de- tachment of United States troops, a circumstance which convinced Gayoso, who, during the previous July, had succeeded Governor Carondelet, that the treaty was re- garded as a finality by the United States, and that its provisions would be insisted upon, even at the cost of an open rupture with His Catholic Majesty. To that length Spain was not prepared to go. Orders were therefore issued for the evacuation of Natchez, Walnut Hills, and other posts north of the thirty-first meridian, and, after a further delay of several months, the Spanish troops marched out (March 30, -1798), leaving the forts intact.^ The American flag was raised over the region so long in dispute, and the pioneers of the West found themselves in the possession of the long coveted right of freely navi- gating the great River, which formed their only highway to the markets of the world. 1 "Kentucky Gazette," May 20, 1797. 2 Fuller's "Florida Purchase," p. 92. CHAPTER VIII THE KENTUCKY RESOLUTIONS OF I798 AND I799 In March, 1797, John Adams found himself at the head of a nation, stirred by violent political excitement. On the one side were the Federalists, who, though broken by factions, were responsible for his election, on the other, the new Democratic-Republicans, who, having succeeded in electing Jefferson as Vice-President, recalled with bit- terness that the rejection of four disputed votes would have placed their leader in the White House. The vast majority of the Kentucky people belonged to this new party, which had been saddled with the blame for the Whiskey Rebellion, the Jacobin Clubs, and the attempt to defeat the carrying out of Jay's treaty. In spite of re- peated reverses, however, it had gradually increased in power, until it was now fully as strong as the Federalists, while it enjoyed the exceptional advantage of being led by a statesman, ever ready to profit by the mistakes of his opponents. It is not our province to pass judgment upon the char- acter of Thomas Jefferson, but as he chose to use the Kentucky Legislature for the accomplishment of his po- litical ends, we must trace, in outline at least, the events in national affairs which gave him his opportunity. As no absorbing subject of domestic policy at this time presented itself, to serve as a battle ground between the two parties, foreign affairs continued to hold the atten- 212 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY tion of both; and if we seek for the central fact of John Adams' administration we shall find it in the single word, France. Washington and Jay had, temporarily, settled the English question; but just so fast as our relations with that country improved, our relations with France and Napoleon grew worse. Jay's treaty had enraged France, and we must admit that her anger was not wholly unjust. She charged us with the willful violation of two solemn treaties, the first, of offensive and defensive alliance, the second, of friendship, navigation and commerce; and claimed that, far from keeping our sacred agreements, we had, without a word of notice to her, signed a treaty with her enemy, England, which placed that nation in a posi- tion of favor, denied to her. This was, undoubtedly, a reasonable complaint, from the point of view of the French Directory, and they at once selected an heroic method of showing their displeasure. They passed a law which declared, in effect, that "as neu- trals suffer themselves to be treated by England, so shall they be treated by France." James Monroe, a follower of Jefferson, whom Washing- ton had sent to France to soothe her anger, had shown his democratic spirit by exhibiting sympathy with France, and by listening to remarks such as no American, in govern- mental service, has a right to hear. Washington had, therefore, just before his retirement, recalled him, and sent Chas. C. Pinckney, of South Carolina, to take his place. France objected to the change, and refused to recognize Pinckney, or to receive his credentials, while, a little later, it was learned that she had gone so far as to threaten him with arrest if he remained in France. Here, then, was a critical condition of affairs, and war seemed unavoidable; THE KENTUCKY RESOLUTIONS 213 but Alexander Hamilton, the founder and genius of the Federalist party, was, as usual, ready with a solution. If war should be declared against France, he argued, without a strong effort at reconciliation, the Government would lose the support of a large body of the Republican party, whose tendency had always been to favor that country; and he therefore urged President Adams to ap- point a commission of three men to be sent to France, with instructions to make an honorable settlement, if such were possible. Pinckney, John Marshall and Gerry, were accordingly selected, and departed upon this mission, upon the outcome of which peace or war was believed to depend. As little hope of a peaceful adjustment was felt by the Federalist leaders, they considered it the part of wisdom to prepare for war; but the Republicans in Congress op- posed all measures looking toward armament, and Presi- dent Adams was almost in despair, when dispatches ar- rived from France which proved, to the satisfaction of the Administration, that the last hope of peace had failed. Our ambassadors had been subjected to persistent and continued insult. Unofficial personages had been sent by Talleyrand (Minister for Foreign Affairs), to demand that large sums of money be paid to the French Directory, before any official communication ^ would be held with them, and to make other proposals equally insulting to the dignity and honor of a free nation.^ Adams straightway declared that he saw no hope of a peaceful and honorable settlement with France. The Re- publicans, however, openly questioned the honesty of the 1 Compare article in " Kentucky Gazette," April 25, 1798. ' Detailed account of these insults, "Kentucky Gazette," May 2, 1798. 214 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY Administration, and continued their opposition to the war measures. Adams, therefore, consulted the leaders of his party upon the advisability of exhibiting the dispatches themselves, and taking his stand upon the whole body of facts. This was especially desirable as the House had already passed a Resolution, "That the President be re- |j quested to communicate to this House, the instructions to, and dispatches from, the envoys-extraordinary of the United States to the French Republic." ^ His confidential advisers agreeing with him, that this was the wisest course to pursue, Adams sent the required papers to Congress, with the request that they be "con- sidered in confidence, until the members of Congress are fully possessed of their contents." The effect was imme- 11 diate. The Repubhcans read with dismay the insults which had been offered to our representatives, and saw no course open to them but to support the war policy. Shortly afterward, by the sanction of the President, the dispatches were given to the press, and published through- out the land, adding irresistible strength to the cause of Federalism.^ Bills preparing the country for war were rushed through Congress with little or no opposition,^ and Adams suddenly found himself riding upon the crest of the wave, classed with Washington in song and patriotic poem. His message of June 21, 1798, committed him to a policy which was no longer the policy of a party but of a nation. " I will never send another minister to France without assurance that he will be received, re- spected, and honored as the representative of a great, 1 "Kentucky Gazette," April 25, 1798. 2 Schouler, I, p. 387. 3 "Kentucky Gazette," May 23, June 6, etc., 1798. THE KENTUCKY RESOLUTIONS 215 free, powerful and independent nation." ^ Thousands of men who distrusted Adams and the Federahsts, were swept along by the current of excitement, and supported both with enthusiasm. Bands of young men organized in different sections of the country, and despatched memo- rials of sympathy and support to the President. Students in the great seats of learning, Princeton, New Haven and Cambridge, drew up addresses, eagerly pledging their support to the Federalist party. ^ One Republican leader after another was carried away by the current of public opinion. "Giles, Clopton, Cabell and Nicholas have gone," Jefferson wrote to Madison,^ "and Clay goes to-morrow. Parker has completely gone over to the war party. In this state of things they will carry what they please. One of the war party . . . declared some time ago that they would pass a citizen bill, an alien bill, and a sedition bill." This last sentence must have contained a gleam of hope for these two disconsolate Republican leaders. They knew that, should the Federalists, in the wantonness of power, venture to enact oppressive or unconstitutional laws against the freedom of the press, or any other fun- damental doctrine. Republicanism might well hope to come out victorious in this apparently unequal contest; and certain well-known facts led them to credit the assertion that their opponents really meant to carry out this dan- gerous program. The long continued abuse which they had received from the Republican press had stung their 1 Schouler, I, p. 391. 2 McMaster, II, p. 381. 3 Jeflferson to Madison, April 26, 1798. " Jefferson's Works," Memorial Ed., 1903, X, p. 31. ; 2l6 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY leaders to madness, and they were burning for revenge.^ Most of the immigrants, since the adoption of the Federal Constitution, had been Frenchmen, driven out by political troubles, or British subjects with ideas too Republican for use in their own countries (England, Scotland and Ire land). Many had been journalists at home, and more ; than one had fled to escape prosecution for seditious libel against the British Government.^ Upon finding them- selves safely established in their new home, some of these had resumed the practice of their profession, and that without a change of policy. Their admiration for the French Revolution, and their hatred of England com- bined to make them intense supporters of Jefferson and his party, and just as intense enemies of the Federalists. Their publications were often indecently insulting, and sometimes, maliciously untrue. To silence these men and to guard against the in- sidious influence of a large foreign population were, therefore, the chief causes of the passage of the Alien and Sedition laws, which called forth the famous Kentucky Resolutions of 1798 and 1799. There was, however, another reason why the Federalists feared the influence ; of French sympathizers. It was generally believed that France was planning to regain Louisiana, and that these foreign Americans were operating to prepare our western territory for joining her, when her plans should come to maturity. Accordingly, on June 18, 1798, the exultant Federahsts passed the first act of their disastrous program.^ It de- 1 Hildreth, "Second Series," II, p. 210. 2 For example, Callender, temporarily editor of the "Aurora," in Bache's absence. 3 Annals of Congress. "This Act was repealed in 1802, and the term of THE KENTUCKY RESOLUTIONS 217 clared that henceforth naturalization papers should be granted only to such foreigners as had resided fourteen years in this country, and had declared their intention of becoming citizens, at least five years before the time for ob- taining their papers. Further, that aliens coming to this country after the passage of this law, must be registered, and must bring their certificates of registration, when they appeared for naturalization, as proof that they had lived fourteen years in the country: and that "alien enemies," (citizens of countries hostile to the United States), could not become citizens at all.^ Seeing that this long period of naturalization would nec- essarily increase the alien class, as under its provisions but few foreigners could for the present be admitted, the next law^ was designed to keep them safe and quiet during their long term of uncertain allegiance. It gave the Presi- dent full power to order all aliens whom he judged danger- ous to the peace and safety of the United States, or whom he suspected of treasonable or secret machinations against the Government, to leave the country within a certain def- inite period; and, if any alien so outlawed were found in the country after the date fixed by the President, he was liable to imprisonment for three years, and would never again be eligible for citizenship. If one thus imprisoned were deemed better out of the country, the President could send him out, and, if he returned without permission, he naturalization was once more fixed at five years, from which it has not since greatly varied." Schouler, I, p. 394, note. 1 The law had previously been to grant naturalization papers to aliens who had resided five years in the United States. See "Annals of Congress," Jan- uary 29, 1795. * Act of June 25, 1798; "Annals of Congress." Its operation was limited to two years; McMaster, II, p. 395; Schouler, I, p. 394. 2l8 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY might be imprisoned for as long a time as the President should think necessary for public safety. Besides the registration required under the new Naturalization law, the President was given power to require from each ship captain, upon his arrival, a list of all alien passengers. In the case of the so-called, "alien enemies," still more stringent legislation was thought necessary. The law ^ gave the President power, in time of war or invasion, to apprehend, restrain, or remove all natives, citizens or subjects of hostile governments, upon such terms as he should see fit to impose. It was thus an act deliberately setting aside the right of trial by jury in the case of foreign- ers, and submitting them to the arbitrary arrest and imprisonment of a single man, without restraint other than his own conscience. The Sedition Act, ^ so called, was even more despotic. The first Amendment to the Constitution declares that, "Congress shall make no law . . . abridging the free- dom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." But this bold piece of legislation pronounced it a high misdemeanor, punish- able by fine and imprisonment, "for any persons unlaw- fully to combine and conspire together with intent to oppose any measure of the Government of the United States, . . . and to impede the operation of any law of the United States, or to intimidate persons from taking or holding public offices, or to commit, advise or attempt to procure any insurrection, riot, or unlawful assembly." Section two provides a fine and imprisonment for print- 1 Act of July 6, 1798; " Annals of Congress." 3 Act of July 14, 1798; Ibid. THE KENTUCKY RESOLUTIONS 219 ing or publishing, " any false, scandalous and malicious writing against the Government of the United States, or either House of Congress, or the President, with intent to defame them, or bring them into contempt or disrepute; or to excite against them the hatred of the good people of the United States, or to stir up sedition, or with intent to excite any unlawful combination therein for opposing or resisting any law" of the United States or any lawful act of the President; or to "aid, abet, or encourage, any hostile design of any foreign nation against the United States." Section three declared that truth should be given as evidence, and that the jury should be judges both of law and fact.^ Had the Federalist leaders sought to make themselves detested, they could not have found a surer way than the passage of these laws. Jefferson and his immediate fol- lowers saw, or pretended to see, in them the beginning of a movement toward changing the Republic into a Monar- chy. "For my own part," the former wrote to S. T. Mason, "I consider these laws as only an experiment on the American mind, to see how far it will bear an avowed violation of the Constitution. If this goes down, we shall immediately see attempted another Act of Congress, de- claring that the President shall continue in office during life, reserving to another occasion the transfer of the suc- cession to his heirs, and the establishment of the Senate for life. . . . That these things are in contemplation, I have no doubt; nor can I be confident of their failure, after the dupery of which our countrymen have shown themselves susceptible." ^ 1 Text of Sedition Law, "Kentucky Gazette," August 8, 1798; Hildreth, "Second Series," II, pp. 226-227. 2 Jefferson to S. T. Mason, October 11, 1798. "Jefferson's Works," Me- morial Ed., 1903, X, pp. 61-62. 220 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY It was Jefferson's obvious duty, if he really cherished this remarkable belief, to show the people the insidious tendency of these laws, and the sinister designs against liberty which lurked behind them. As the leader of a political party, furthermore, it was his duty to make this exposure in the way most likely to strengthen his own party. With these ends in view, he conceived the plan of persuading such State Legislatures as still remained Re- publican, to pass resolutions, pointing out the character of the obnoxious acts, and declaring them unconstitutional. North Carolina at first appeared to him the likeliest field for the beginning of his crusade,^ but this opinion was soon altered by the fierce and open hostility against the Alien and Sedition laws manifested by the citizens of Kentucky, as well as by the fact that North Carolina began to show a disposition to desert the faltering standard of Jeffersonian Democracy. The Kentucky newspapers for the latter part of the summer of 1798, were filled with accounts of meetings and resolutions against the Alien and Sedition laws, and the Administration which had produced them, the "Gazette" of August i, for example, containing a series of ten resolutions adopted by a mass meeting of Clark County, which are very like what Jefferson himself was planning. They read thus: " First. Resolved, That every officer of the Federal Gov- ernment, whether legislative, executive, or judicial, is the servant of the people, and is amenable and accountable to them : That being so, it becomes the people to watch over 1 Jefferson to W. C. Nicholas, October, 1798. Text, Warfield's "Kentucky Resolutions of 1798," pp. 146-147. This letter does not appear in Jefferson's published works. THE KENTUCKY RESOLUTIONS 221 their conduct with vigilance, and to censure and remove them as they may judge expedient: . . . " Second. Resolved, That v^ar with France is impolitic, and must be ruinous to America in her present situation. "Third. Resolved, That we will, at the hazard of our lives and fortunes, support the Union, the independence, the Constitution, and the liberty of the United States. " Fourth. Resolved, That an aUiance with Great Britain would be dangerous and impolitic; That should defensive exertions be found necessary, we would rather support the burthen of them alone than embark our interests and hap- piness with that corrupt and tottering monarchy. "Fifth. Resolved, That the powers given to the Presi- dent to raise armies when he may judge necessary — with- out restriction as to number — and to borrow money to support them, without limitation as to the sum to be bor- rowed, or the quantum of interest to be given on the loan, are dangerous and, unconstitutional. "Sixth. Resolved, That the Alien bill is unconstitu- tional, impolitic, unjust and disgraceful to the American character. "Seventh. Resolved, That the privilege of printing and publishing our sentiments on all public questions is inestimable, and that it is unequivocally acknowleged and secured to us by the Constitution of the United States; That all the laws made to impair or destroy it are void, and that we will exercise and assert our just right in op- position to any law that may be passed to deprive us of it. "Eighth. Resolved, That the bill which is said to be now before Congress, defining the crime of treason and sedition, and prescribing the punishments therefor, as it has been presented to the public, is the most abominable 222 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY that was ever attempted to be imposed upon a nation of free men. "Ninth. Resolved, That there is a sufficient reason to | believe, and we do believe, that our liberties are in danger; and we pledge ourselves to each other and to our country, that we will defend them against all unconstitutional at- tacks that may be made upon them. "Tenth. Resolved, That the foregoing resolutions be transmitted to our representative in Congress, by the Chair- man, certified by the Secretary, and that he be requested to present them to each branch of the Legislature and to the President, and that they also be published in the Kentucky 'Gazette.' "Jacob Fishback, Ch. "Attest: R. HiGGiNS, Sec." This was the meeting satirized by Peter Porcupine,^ in the following account: "At Lexington, a mob assembled on the 24th of July, with a fellow of the name of Fishback at their head; they got pen, ink, and paper, and to work they went, drawing up resolves to the number of ten, among which is the fol- lowing one, which, for sentiment as well as orthography, is unequalled even in the Annals of American Democracy. " ' Resolvd, that that es sufishunt resen to beleev, and wee doe beleev, that our leebeerte es in daingur, and wee plege ourselves too eche other, and too ouer countery, that wee will defende um agenst awl unconstetushonal ataks that mey bee mede upon um.' " Meetings were held in various other counties at which spirited addresses, and threatening resolutions against the 1 "Porcupine's Gazette," September 21, 1798. Quoted in Warfield's "Ken- tucky Resolutions of 1798," pp. 46-47. '1 THE KENTUCKY RESOLUTIONS 223 obnoxious Federal statutes were presented; ^ but the speech in which the American public will now take the deepest interest was delivered, toward the end of July, at a Lexing- ton Anti-Sedition law rally, by a tall youth of twenty-one, who bore the then obscure name, Henry Clay. Clay was a native of Hanover County, Virginia, having first seen the light of day on April 12, 1777, in a district familiarly known as "the Slashes." His father, a Baptist clergyman of eminent respectability, though of no great prominence, had died in 1782, when Henry was five years old, and the boy had received only the common school training offered in the little log-cabin schoolhouse of the district. In 1792, his mother had married a second hus- band, a Mr. Henry Watkins and had moved with him to Woodford County, Kentucky, taking five of her seven chil- dren with her. Henry and his eldest brother had been left in Virginia to carve out their own fortunes. Having secured employment at Richmond, in the office of Peter Tinsley, Clerk of the High Court of Chancery, Henry had attracted the notice of the venerable Chancellor Wythe, who, being unable to use his pen by reason of the gout, had frequently employed him as an amanuensis.^ This employment had brought him into contact with the distinguished Attorney- General and ex-Governor of Virginia, Robert Brooke, and, by the advice of these two eminent statesmen, he had turned his attention to the study of the law. In 1796, Brooke had taken Clay into his own house, and had given him the benefit of a year of uninterrupted study, at the end of which time, Clay had obtained his license from the Vir- 1 Accounts of such meetings in Woodford, Fayette and Montgomery Coun- ties appear in the "Kentucky Gazette" for August 8 and 15, 1798. 2 Sargent's "Clay," p. 3. 224 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY ginia Court of Appeals, and moved to Lexington, Ken- tucky, to begin his practice.^ There he had been readily admitted as a practitioner before the Fayette Court of Quarter Sessions. "Without patrons, without the favor or countenance of the great or opulent," he afterwards declared,^ "without the means of paying my weekly board, and in the midst of a bar uncommonly distinguished by eminent members, I remember how comfortable I thought I should be, if I could make one hundred pounds, Virginia money, per year." Upon the present occasion. Clay stood in the crowd, listening to the long and eloquent speech of George Nicho- las, denouncing the Alien and Sedition laws, and the despotic tendency of the ruling Federalists. At the close a wild cheer greeted the distinguished orator, and then someone shouted the name of Henry Clay. The crowd, whose anti-federal enthusiasm had only been whetted by what they had just heard, at once took up the cry, de- manding that the young stranger from Virginia express his views upon the all-important topic. Fortunately for the future "Great Commoner," and for his dream of a hundred pounds a year, he was in complete sympathy with his audience. He mounted the wagon which served as a speaker's platform,^ and, taking up the theme of Fed- eral usurpation which Nicholas had used to such good ef- fect, he poured forth a torrent of invective, so remarkable and so unexpected, that, as an eyewitness of the scene de- clared, "it would be impossible to give an adequate idea 1 Prentice's " Clay," pp. 7-8; Collins, II, pp. 205-206. 2 Lexington Speech, June 9, 1842; Mallory's "Life and Speeches of Henry Clay," II, p. 572. 3Warfield's "Kentucky Resolutions of 1798," p. 43, gives a somewhat different account of the meeting. THE KENTUCKY RESOLUTIONS 225 of the effect produced." ^ As that matchless voice, hitherto silent, but soon to become a controlling and compelling factor in national and international affairs, floated over the wondering throng of hardy frontiersmen, " indignation came like a dark shadow upon every countenance. The flame that burned in his own heart was caught up and lighted in every other. He ceased — but there was no shout. The feelings of the gathered multitude were too wild and deep for applause." ' He had voiced the prevailing opinion of his fellow citizens as no other living man could have voiced it, and no more words were wanted. The leading Federalist orator of the region, William Murray, came forward to the support of the Administration; but the crowd refused to hear him, and would have dragged him from the stand had not Nicholas and Clay interfered. Next, a Federalist named M'Lean attempted to secure a hearing, but the indignant crowd rushed forward with hostile intent, and " it was only by a precipitate flight into the country that he escaped being treated with personal indignity." ^ Then, the ugly humor of the crowd sud- denly vanishing, they raised the heroes of the day, George Nicholas and Henry Clay, upon their shoulders, and bore them away in triumphal procession. In the comments of the Federalist newspapers upon this meeting. Clay's speech and personal triumph were omitted, as he was a mere boy, with no political influence; those of George Nicholas, a man with a man's reputation, could not be entirely passed over, but they were minimized, while the efforts of the two bold Federalists, Murray and 1 Prentice's "Clay," p. 23. 2 Ibid., p. 24. 3 Ibid. Kentucky — 15 226 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY M'Lean, with the treatment which they experienced, were graphically set forth. The following is a report of the meeting by, "A respectable Gentleman of Pittsburg," printed first in the "Weekly Advertiser" of Reading, Pennsylvania, and later in the "Kentucky Gazette" of November 28, 1798. "You no doubt have heard of the commotions in Ken- tucky. If not, the story is this: Meetings were called in the principal towns to consider of, or rather, abuse the measures of the Government. Seditious speeches, violent resolutions entered into, and a flame everywhere kindled. At Lexington, George Nicholas, a little, indolent, drunken lawyer, of some talents, but no principle, loaded with British debts, and an elder brother of Le beau Citoyen Nicholas, opened the business of the meeting. He spoke for hours in the most inflammatory style — denounced the President as a perjured villain, a traitor, etc. Declared it as his intention to oppose all those measures of the execu- tive which he condemned — and not one escaped his con- demnation — and swore if he could not say, read and publish as he pleased in his own house — the Govm. of the United States should procure him another. Mr. Murray and Mr. M'Lean opposed him ably. The former was heard without insult, but the latter was forced to take shelter in a house from the mobility. Upwards of 1000 persons were present at the Lexington meeting." Such demonstrations served to show the trend of pub- lic opinion, but it was clearly understood by the Demo- cratic leaders of Kentucky that the only action likely to produce real results was action by the State as a political unit. In the " Kentucky Gazette" of August 22, 1798, an article signed " Philo-Agis," explicitly advises this course. THE KENTUCKY RESOLUTIONS 227 "My plan is this," it says, "let the legislature of Kentucky be immediately convened by the Governor, let them pass resolutions praying for a repeal of every obnoxious and unconstitutional act of Congress." This was a suggestion right in line with public opinion, and would probably have been carried out promptly had it not been for the fact that George Nicholas was out of public life, and, although quite willing, as his effort at Lexington had shown, to use his gifts as a public speaker against the obnoxious laws, he was not disposed to shoulder the burden of such an undertaking,^ while his young and ardent friend, John Breckinridge, had just set out for a prolonged visit to Virginia.^ Breckinridge had taken a prominent part in a number of the mass meetings called to denounce the Alien and Se- dition laws, and, although leaving Kentucky for a short period, had no intention of giving up the fight. While at Botetourt, he sent a letter to Caleb Wallace, a member of the Kentucky Legislature, urging him to prepare a set of resolutions against these laws, and to present them to the Legislature at the earliest possible moment. The letter was not delivered for some two or three weeks after it should have reached its destination, and then Caleb Wal- lace modestly declined the honor of "drafting any thing of so great importance." ^ iWarfield's "Kentucky Resolutions of 1798," p. 47. a John Breckinridge was born in Augusta County, Virginia, on December 3, 1760, but at an early age was taken by his father to his new home in Botetourt County, near Fincastle. In 1785 he settled in Albemarle County where he practiced law until 1793, when he moved to Lexington, Kentucky. From there he went to "Cabell's Dale," Fayette County, a short distance from Lexington, where he resided until his death in 1806. For biographical sketch, see Collins, II, pp. 98-100; Warfield's "Kentucky Resolutions of 1798," Chap. Ill, etc. 3 From letter of Caleb Wallace to John Breckinridge, dated, Lexington, 228 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY It mattered little, however, for, before his answer was penned, Breckinridge had gone on to Albemarle County, Virginia, where his plans for denouncing the Alien and Sedition laws, through the medium of the Kentucky Leg- islature, received the encouragement and cooperation of Jefferson himself, whom all Democrats, even then, rever- enced as the founder of their political party. Jefferson, upon the adjournment of Congress, in July, had returned to Monticello, cherishing plans similar to those occupying the thoughts of Breckinridge.^ There was, however, this difference in the points of view of the two men. What Breckinridge proposed was to check Federal encroachments upon the reserved rights of the States; while the Vice President designed, by the resolu- tions which he was contemplating, to make a political stroke which should cause the American people to see the Federalist party as he saw it, and to expel them from the control of the government. Early in October, 1798, Mr. Jefferson wrote to W. C. Nicholas of Virginia,^ " I entirely approve of the confidence you have reposed in Mr. Breckinridge, as he possesses mine entirely. I had im- agined it better these resolutions should have originated with North Carolina, but perhaps the late changes in their representation may indicate some doubt whether they would have passed. In that case, it is better they should come from Kentucky." This clearly implies that Jeffer- son and W. C. Nicholas had already arranged plans for a set of resolutions, and that Breckinridge's account of con- ditions in Kentucky had convinced Jefferson that the Ky., November 5, 1798. Quoted in Warfield's " Kentucky Resolutions of 1798," pp. 147-148. 1 Schouler, I, p. 408. 2 A brother of George Nicholas of Kentucky. THE KENTUCKY RESOLUTIONS 229 Legislature of that new Commonwealth would be a safe place to launch them. The next sentence includes Madi- son in the scheme: "I understand," he continues, "that you intend soon to go as far as Mr. Madison's. You know I have no secrets from him. I wish him, therefore, to be consulted as to these resolutions." How many interviews occurred between Jefferson and Breckinridge before a definite plan of cooperation was reached, we have no means of determining; but we fortu- nately possess, from Jefferson's own pen, a detailed ac- count of the conference at which the final plan of campaign was arranged. The letter containing this account, although written by Jefferson for the purpose of settling beyond dispute the question of the authorship of the Kentucky Resolutions of 1798, has produced great confusion, due to the fact that Thomas Jefferson Randolph, in sorting the papers of his illustrious grandfather, while preparing the first edition of Jefferson's works,^ came upon a copy of the letter, without the name of the addressee. By some process of reasoning known only to himself, he decided that it must have been addressed to a son of George Nicholas, and so embodied it in the Fourth Volume of his edition (page 344), with the statement that it was addressed " To Nich- olas, Esquire," not caring to decide to which of George Nicholas' sons it had been written. In this form, the letter was first given to the public, thus laying the foundation of the long contested error, that George Nicholas v/as the mover of the Resolutions of 1798, an error which a careful exami- nation of any of the local papers of the period would have 1 Charlottesville, Virginia, 1829, 4 vols., under title, "Memoir, Correspond- ence, and Miscellanies of Thomas Jefferson, edited by T. J. Randolph." The London edition had the title changed to, "Memoirs, Correspondence, and pri- vate papers of Thomas Jefferson." 230 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY disclosed.^ When the original text of the letter was finally discovered among the papers of the late W. C. P. Breckinridge, of Lexington, Kentucky, it was found to be addressed to J. Cabell Breckinridge, of Frank- fort,^ thus making it perfectly evident that Jefferson's remarks concerned, not George Nicholas, but John Breckinridge. In view of which facts, it seems wise to present Jefferson's account of the historic confer- ence which planned the resolutions, in the form of a facsimile reproduction of this much discussed letter, in order that no room for doubt may be left in any mind.^ The resolutions, here referred to as drawn by Jefferson, are not identical with those subsequently passed by the Kentucky Legislature, and, in view of the historic im- portance of the subject, I venture to insert them entire. 1 This error appears in the following important works, and in many others of less importance: (o) Von Hoist, " Constitutional History of the United States," 1889 Ed., I, p. 144, note No. 2; (b) Randall's "Jefferson," 1858 Ed., H, p. 448; (c) " Jefferson's Works," 1854 Ed., VH, pp. 229-230, publishes the letter as addressed "To Nicholas"; {d) McMaster, "History of the People of the United States," II, p. 419; (e) Hildreth's "History of U. S., Second Series," II, pp. 272-276, etc. 3 The address was fortunately written on the reverse side of the sheet con- taining the letter. 3 I am indebted to Mr. Desha Breckinridge of Lexington, Ky., and to his sister. Dean Breckinridge of the University of Chicago, for permission to use the Breckinridge papers, and for the privilege of reproducing this letter, which has been thus reproduced once before, but not so as to make it generally ac- cessible. It appeared in the "Southern Bivouac" for March, 1886, and with that reproduction appeared an able article by Col. R. T. Durrett, setting forth, for the first time, the clear proof that John Breckinridge was the mover and part author of the "Kentucky Resolutions of 1798." The two following num- bers of the same magazine contain articles by the same author, amplifying the argument. The same general line of argument was adopted in Warfield's "Kentucky Resolutions of 1798," which appeared the following year, 1887, much new and valuable material being added. ./ CcJy-dU^ T^r^h/lctAi^rui'X^ jDcjf^s^ I ktjt^i. cr-i.itjL l>*~*i-i-tkji<. a^-«-iV«W Ht-pi/t- 1 /Wrvi-*** iJ'Ti AA<.< Reduced fac-simile of letter from Thomas Jefferson to J. Cabell Breckenridge regarding the Kentucky Resolutions 'p"Auud by courtesy of Mr. Desha Breckenridge, of Lexington, Kentucky, and his sister, Dean Brecken- ridge, of the University of Chicago. d.tJtLUvr i>t]in fi I.I. '"-^ ^ THE KENTUCKY RESOLUTIONS 231 The following is a copy of Jefferson's draft, found among his papers, after his death, and certified to by his executor, Thomas Jefferson Randolph, as a true and exact tran- script.^ The Jefferson Resolutions Resolved, That the several States composing the United States of America, are not united on the principle of the unlimited submission to the General Government; but that by a compact under the style and title of a Constitu- tion for the United States, and bf amendments thereto, they constituted a General Government for special pur- poses, delegated to that Government certain definite pow- ers, reserving each State to itself, the residuary mass of right to their own self-government; and that whensoever the General Government assumes undelegated powers, its acts are unauthoritative, void, and of no force; that to this compact, each State acceded as a State, and is an integral party; its co-States forming as to itself, the other party; that the Government created by this compact, was not made the exclusive or final judge of the extent of the powers delegated to itself; since that would have made its discretion and not the Constitution, the measure of its powers; but that, as in all other cases of compact among' powers having no common judge, each party has an equal right to judge for itself; as well of infractions as of the mode and measure of redress. 2d. Resolved, That the Constitution of the United 1 "Two copies of these Resolutions are preserved among the manuscripts, both in his own handwriting," says the editor of the 1856 edition of " Jeiierson's Works," IX, p. 464, note, "one is a rough draft, and the other very neatly and carefully prepared." For history of the copy used in this volume, see '" Southern Bivouac," May, 1886, pp. 762-763, article by Col. R. T. Durrett. It is in the Durrett collection and is undoubtedly authentic. 232 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY States having delegated to Congress a power to punish treason, counterfeiting the securities and current coin of the United States; piracies and felonies committed on the high seas, and offences against the law of nations, and no other crimes whatsoever; and it being true as a general principle, and one of the amendments to the Constitution having also declared that, "the powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or the people; therefore the act of Congress passed on the 14th July, 1798, and entitled, An act in addition to the act, entitled an act for the punishment of certain crimes against the United States;" as also the act passed by them on the day of June, 1798, en- titled "An act to punish frauds committed on the Bank of the United States;" (and all other their acts which as- sume to create, define or punish crimes, other than those so enumerated in the Constitution) are altogether void and of no force, and that the pov/er to create, define and punish such other crimes is reserved, and of right appertains solely and exclusively to the respective States, each within its own territory. 3d. Resolved^ That it is true as a general principle and is also expressly declared, by one of the amendments to the Constitution that the powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, were reserved to the States respectively, or to the people; and that no power over the freedom of religion, freedom of speech, or freedom of the press be- ing delegated to the United States, by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, all lawful powers respecting the same did of right remain, and were reserved THE KENTUCKY RESOLUTIONS 233 to the States or the people; that thus was manifested their determination to retain themselves the right of judging how far the licentiousness of speech and of the press may be abridged without lessening their useful freedom, and how far those abuses which can not be separated from their use should be tolerated, rather than the use be destroyed; and thus also they guarded against all abridge- ment by the United States of the freedom of religious opinions and exercises and retained to themselves the right of protecting the same; as this State, by law passed on the general demand of its citizens, had already protected them from all human restraints or interference, and that in addition to this general principle and express declaration, another and more special provision has been made by one of the amendments to the Constitution, which expressly declares that "Congress shall make no law re- specting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, or abridging the freedom of speech or of the press;" thereby guarding in the same sentence and under the same words the freedom of religion, of speech, and of the press; insomuch that whatever violates either, throws down the sanctuary which covers the others, and that libels, falsehood, and defamation equally with heresy and false religion, are withheld from the cogni- zance of federal tribunals, that therefore the act of Con- gress of the United States, passed on the 14th day of July, 1798, entitled "An act in addition to an act, entitled an act for the punishment of certain crimes against the United States," which does abridge the freedom of the press, is not law, but is altogether void and of no force. 4th. Resolved f That alien friends are under the juris- diction and protection of the laws of the State wherein 234 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY they are; that no power over them has been delegated to the United States; nor prohibited to the individual States, distinct from their power over citizens; and it being true as a general principle, and one of the amendments to the Constitution having also declared, that "the powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people," the act of the Congress of the United States, passed on the day of July, 1798, entitled "An act concerning aliens," which assumes powers over alien friends not delegated by the Constitu- tion, is not law, but is altogether void and of no force. 5th. Resolved, That, in addition to the general prin- ciple, as well as the express declaration, that powers not delegated are reserved, another and more special provision, inserted in the Constitution from abundant caution, has declared that "the migration or importation of such persons as any of the States now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited by the Congress prior to the year 1808;" that this commonwealth does admit the emigration of alien friends, described as the subjects of the said act concerning aliens; that a provision against prohibiting their migration, is a provision against all acts equivalent thereto, as it would be nugatory; that, to remove them when emigrated, is equivalent to a prohibition of their migration; and is, therefore, contrary to the said provision of the Constitution and void. 6th. Resolved, That the imprisonment of a person under the protection of the laws of this commonwealth, on his failure to obey the simple order of the President to depart out of the United States, as is undertaken by THE KENTUCKY RESOLUTIONS 235 the said act, entitled "An act concerning aliens," is contrary to the Constitution, one amendment of which has provided that "no person shall be deprived of liberty without due process of law;" and that, another having provided that, "in all criminal prosecutions the accused shall enjoy the right to a public trial by an impartial jury; to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor; and to have the assistance of counsel for his defence." The same act undertaking to authorize the President of the United States to remove a person out of the United States who is under the protection of the law, on his own suspi- cion, without accusation, without jury, without public trial, without confrontation of the witnesses against him, with- out hearing witnesses in his favor, without defence, with- out counsel, is contrary to these provisions, also, of the Constitution; is, therefore, not law, but utterly void and of no force; that, transferring the power of judging any per- son, who is under the protection of the law, from the courts to the President of the United States, as is undertaken by the same act concerning aliens, is against the article of the Constitution, which provides that "the judicial power of the United States shall be vested in courts, the judges of which shall hold their offices during good behavior;" and that the said act is void for that reason also; and it is fur- ther to be noted that, this transfer of judiciary power is to that magistrate of the General Government who already possesses all the executive, and a negative, on all the legis- lative powers. yth. Resolved, That the construction applied by the General Government (as is evidenced by sundry of their 236 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY proceedings) to those parts of the Constitution of the United States, which delegate to Congress a power "To lay and collect taxes, duties, imports, and excises, to pay the debts and provide for the common defence and general welfare of the United States, and to make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into exe- cution the powers vested by the Constitution in the Gov- ernment of the United States, or in any department or offices thereof," goes to the destruction of all the limits prescribed to their power by the Constitution; that words meant by that instrument to be subsidiary only to the exe- cution of limited powers, ought not to be so construed as themselves to give unlimited powers, nor a part to be so taken as to destroy the whole residue of that instrument; that the proceedings of the General Government under color of these articles, will be a fit and necessary subject of revisal and correction, at a time of greater tranquility, while those specified in the preceding resolutions call for immediate redress. 8th. Resolved, That a Committee of Conference and Correspondence be appointed, who shall have in charge to communicate the preceding resolutions to the legis- lature of the several States; to assure them that this com- monwealth continues in the same esteem for their friend- ship and union which it has manifested from that moment at which a common danger first suggested a common union; that it considers union, for specified national purposes, and particularly for those specified in their late federal compact, to be friendly to the peace, happiness, and prosperity of all the States; that faithful to that compact, according to the plain intent and meaning in which it was understood and acceded to by the several THE KENTUCKY RESOLUTIONS 237 parties, it is sincerely anxious for its preservation; that it does also believe that to take from the States all the powers of self-government, and transfer them to a general and consolidated government, without regard to the special delegations and reservations solemnly agreed to in that compact, is not for the peace, happiness, or pros- perity of these States; and that, therefore, this common- wealth is determined, as it doubts not its co-States are, to submit to undelegated, and consequently unlimited powers in no man or body of men, on earth; that in cases of an abuse of the delegated powers, the members of the General Government being chosen by the people, a change by the people would be the constitutional remedy; but where powers are assumed which have not been dele- gated, a nullification of the act is the right remedy; that every State has a natural right, in cases not within the compact, (^casus non foederis) to nullify of their own authority all assumptions of power by others within their limits; that without their right they would be un- der the dominion, absolute and unlimited, of whatsoever might exercise this right of judgment for them; that, nevertheless this commonwealth, from motives of regard and respect for, its co-States, has wished to communicate with them on the subject; that with them alone it is proper to communicate, they alone being parties to the compact, and solely authorized to judge in the last resort of the powers exercised under it, Congress being not a party, but merely the creature of the compact, and subject, as to its assumption of power, to the final judgment of those by whom, and for whose use, itself and its powers were all created and modified; that, if the act before specified should stand, these conclusions would flow 238 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY from them, that the General Government may place any act they think proper on the list of crimes, and punish it themselves, whether enumerated or not enumerated by the Constitution as cognizable by them; that they may transfer its cognizance to the President, or any other person, who may himself be the accuser, counsel, judge, and jury, whose suspicions may be the evidence, his order the sentence, his officer the executioner, and his breast the sole record of the transactions; that a very numerous and valuable description of the inhabitants of these States being, by this precedent, reduced as outlaws to the absolute dominion of one man, and the barrier of the Constitution thus swept away for us all, no ram- part now remains against the passions, and the power of a majority in Congress to protect from a like expor- tation, or other more grievous punishment, the minority of the same body, the legislatures, judges, governors, and counsellors of the States, nor their other peace- able inhabitants, who may venture to reclaim the con- stitutional rights and hberties of the States and people, or who for other causes, good or bad, may be obnoxious to the views, or marked by the suspicion of the President or be thought dangerous to his or their elections, or other interests, public or personal; that the friendless alien has indeed been selected as the safest subject of a first experi- ment, but the citizen will soon follow; rather, has already followed; for already has a sedition act marked him as its prey; that these and successive acts of the same character, unless arrested at the threshold, necessarily drive tliese States into revolution and blood, and will furnish new calumnies against republican governments, and new pretexts for those who wish it to be believed that man can THE KENTUCKY RESOLUTIONS 239 not be governed but by a rod of iron; that it would be a dangerous delusion were a confidence in the men of our choice to silence our fears for the safety of our rights; that confidence is every where the parent of despotism. Free government is founded in jealousy, and not in confidence; it is jealousy, and not confidence which pre- scribes limited constitutions, to bind down those whom we are obliged to trust with power; that our Constitution has accordingly fixed the limits to which, and no further, our confidence may go. And let the honest advocate of con- fidence read the alien and sedition acts, and say if the Con- stitution has not been wise in fixing limits to the Govern- ment it created, and whether we should be wise in destroy- ing those limits. Let him say what the Government is, if it be not a tyranny, which the men of our choice have conferred on our President, and the President of our choice has assented to and accepted, over the friendly strangers to whom the mild spirit of our country and its laws had pledged hospitality and protection; that the men of our choice have more respected the bare suspicions of the Pres- ident, than the solid rights of innocence, the claims of justification, the sacred force of truth, and the forms and substance of law and justice; in questions of power, then, let no more be heard of confidence in man, but bind him down from mischief by the chains of the Con- stitution; that this commonwealth does therefore, call on its co-States for an expression of their sentiments on the acts concerning aliens, and for the punishment of certain crimes hereinbefore specified; plainly declaring whether these acts are, or are not, authorized by the federal compact. And it doubts not that their sense will be so enounced 240 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY as to prove their attachment unaltered to limited govern- ment, whether general or particular; and that the rights and liberties of their co-States will be exposed to no dan- gers by remaining embarked in a common bottom with their own; that they will concur with this commonwealth in considering the said acts so palpably against the Con- stitution as to amount to an undisguised declaration that that compact is not meant to be the measure of the powers of the general government; but that it will proceed in the exercise over these States of all powers whatsoever; that they will view this as seizing the rights of the States, and consolidating them in the hands of the general govern- ment, with a power assumed to bind the States [not merely in the cases made federal, (casus foederis^ ] but in all cases whatsoever, by laws made, not with their consent, but by others against their consent; that this would be to surrender the form of government we have chosen, and to live under one deriving its pov/ers from its own will and not from our authority; and that the co-States recurring to their natural right, in cases not made federal, will con- cur in declaring these acts void and of no force, and will each take measures of its own for providing that neither these acts, nor any others of the general government, not plainly and intentionally authorized by the Consti- tution, shall be exercised vv^ithin their respective terri- tories. 9th. Resolved^ That the said committee be authorized to communicate, by writing or personal conferences, at any times or places whatever, with any person or persons who may be appointed by any one or more of the co-States to correspond or confer with them; and that they lay their proceedings before the next session of assembly. THE KENTUCKY RESOLUTIONS 241 Richmond, March 21, 1832. I have carefully compared this copy with the MSS. of these resolutions in the handwriting of Thomas Jefferson, and find it a correct and full copy. Th. Jefferson Randolph. Armed with these resolutions, Breckinridge returned to his home and, early in November, 1798, appeared at Frankfort for the meeting of the Legislature. In his opening message of November 7th, Governor Garrard struck squarely at the hated Federal statutes; quite as if he were familiar with what had transpired at the recent Monticello conference. "Constituting, as this State does," he said, "a branch of the Federal Union, it necessarily becomes a sharer in the general prosperity or adversity: and, being deeply interested in the conduct of the National Government, must have a right to applaud or to censure that Govern- ment, when applause or censure becomes its due. " It cannot, therefore, be improper to draw your at- tention to sundry acts of the Federal Legislature, which having violated the Constitution of the United States — which having vested the President with high and dan- gerous powers, and intrenched upon the prerogatives of the individual States, have created an uncommon agita- tion of mind in different parts of the Union, and partic- ularly among the citizens of this Commonwealth. "The Act concerning Aliens is calculated to produce effects most strongly marked with injustice and oppres- sion; because the exercise of the power given therein, depends upon the discretion, or, I may say, the caprice of an individual. "Nothing but a general prevalence of hypocrisy, among Kentucky — 16 242 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY that numerous class of persons on whom this law is meant to operate can prevent consequences so much deprecated : for they must affect an approbation of all the measures of Government, whatever be their genuine sentiments con- cerning them, or, by an honest disclosure of their real opinion, expose themselves to be ruined by banishment, on the secret representations of some interested and of- ficious informer, and without enjoying even the shadow of that trial by jury so dear to freemen. "Nor can the same law be regarded as anything less than an artful, though effectual evasion of the provisions of that article of the Federal Constitution which with- holds from Congress the power of prohibiting the mi- gration as well as importation of such persons as the States then existing should think proper to admit, a provision of the highest importance to those States whose popula- tion is not full, and who have a strong interest in welcom- ing the industrious stranger from every part of the world. "Another law the operation of which is more exten- sive ... is entitled, 'An Act in Addition to the Act En- titled " An Act for the Punishment of Certain Crimes Against the United States;'" which by fencing round the different branches of Government, in their official capacity, with penal terrors, in a manner before unknown, hath created a new crime against the United States, in a case where an interference on the part of the Legislature was rendered unconstitutional, by that clause which forbids the enacting of any law abridging the freedom of speech or of the press. "Any violation of the Constitution once acquiesced in, subverts the great palladium of our rights, and no barrier remains to oppose the introduction of despotism." THE KENTUCKY RESOLUTIONS 243 After referring to the war which " hangs over us ... . a war by which we cannot possibly derive any advantage," and warning his hearers that Kentucky is being represented in the East as on the point of "withdrawing herself from the Union," he advises the Legislature to declare fully the firm attachment of Kentucky to the Union, and her deter- mination to support the government in every measure au- thorized by the Constitution. "Against all unconstitutional laws and impolitic proceed- ings," however, he urges them to enter a vigorous protest. ^ So closely does the suggestion laid down in this message coincide with the text of the proposed resolutions that we are at a loss to tell whether the Governor had seen Jeffer- son's draft before writing his message, or whether the strik- ing resemblance between the two was merely accidental. ^ At any rate, the Governor's advice was followed, and on November 8, the day after the delivery of the message, John Breckinridge, who, by a sort of preestablished har- mony, had been appointed Chairman of a Committee of three, to whom the Governor's message was referred, presented to the House, in Committee of the Whole, a 1 Text of this important message in "Kentucky Gazette," November 14, 1798. The next number contains the answers of the House and the Senate. 2 The conclusion that Breckinridge had shown his projected resolutions to the Governor before this message was written is almost irresistible, in view of the fact that the Governor's message follows the specious argument, which appears in the Fifth Article of the Kentucky Resolutions, and also of Jefferson's draft. This argument pronounces the act concerning alien friends void, because it, in effect, prohibits the migration of aliens into the States, in violation of that clause of the Federal Constitution which expressly prohibits Congress from prohibiting, prior to the year 1808, the "migration or importation of such persons as any of the States now existing shall think proper to admit." This clause, as everyone knew, referred only to the importation of slaves, and it scarcely seems likely that this clumsy impeachment of the Administration laws should have been drawn in precisely the same form, by two men working independently. 244 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY series of nine resolutions, the first seven of which were, with a few verbal changes, exactly as Jefferson had v/rit- ten them, though the eighth and ninth were radically dif- ferent from those numbered eight and nine of the Jefferson draft. This shows, of course, that Breckinridge, after re- ceiving the resolutions from Jefferson, had made use of his right to alter them in such a way as to make them fully meet his own views, and conform to what he under- stood to have been agreed upon at the Monticello con- ference. As these are the resolutions actually passed by the Kentucky Legislature, the famous Kentucky Resolu- tions of 1798, the original foundation upon which the nullifiers of later date claimed to have reared their super- structure of State sovereignty and nullification, and as inexact texts have frequently been made use of by politi- cal writers upon the subject,^ it seems advisable again to resort to fac-simile reproduction. The following is taken from one of a thousand copies sent out by order of the Legislature immediately after their adoption. ^ These resolutions v/ere considered in the Committee of the Whole for two days and, on the loth of November, were reported to the House. They excited little debate, as the sentiment was almost unanimous in favor of them. 1 Even Elliot's "Debates" strangely omits from the first resolution of the series the significant words, "its co-states forming as to itself, the other party," which should follow the words, "That to this compact each state acceded as a state, and is an integral party." It also gives November ig, 1798, instead of November 16, 1798, as the date of Governor Garrard's approval of the Resolu- tions. Elliot's "Debates," 1861 Ed., IV, p. 544. 2 The original is in the Durrett collection. For its history and proofs of its authenticity, see Col. R. T. Durrett's article in the "Southern Bivouac" of May, 1886, pp. 762-763. Another copy, accompanied by a letter of Harry Toulmin, Governor Garrard's Secretary of State, is preserved in the State Department of Massachusetts. THE KENTUCKY RESOLUTIONS 245 The staunch FederaHst, WilHam Murray, of Franklin County, exerted all his forensic power to create a senti- ment against them: but to no purpose. He pointed out, in a convincing manner, the fact that the people of the nation, and not the State Legislatures, are the legally con- stituted censors of the Federal Government. The people of the nation, the several individuals composing the States, he declared, not the States themselves, are the parties to the Federal compact. "Is there any clause, either in the Federal, or in the State Constitution, which delegates the power reserved by the people to their State Leg- islature. . . . Because the Constitution of the United States has been violated, will you violate your own Con- stitution .? Where is the clause which has given you censorship .? Where is the clause which has authorized you to repeal or declare void, the laws of the United States ^ . . . It is the people only that have a right to inquire whether Congress hath exceeded its powers; it is the people only that have a right to appeal for redress. To the General Assembly is delegated merely State powers. The authority to determine that a law is void is lodged with the Judiciary" of the United States. In such an audience, the overwhelming sentiment was too obvious for an elaborate defence of the resolutions to be necessary, and Breckinridge's reply is the reply of a man who knows that his case is already won. He felt that he was occupying historic ground, and presenting an interpretation of the Federal compact which was generally accepted, when he said, "I consider the co-States to be alone parties to the Federal compact, and solely authorized to judge, in the last resort, of the power exercised under that compact, Congress being not a party, but merely the 246 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY creature of the compact, and subject, as to its assumptions of power, to the final judgment of those by whom and for whose use, itself and its powers were all created. I do not consider Congress, therefore, the lords and masters of the State, but as their servants. . . . And after all, who are the Judiciary, the body in which the Gentleman places such unbounded confidence ? Who are they, but a part of the servants of the people, created by the Federal com- pact ? And if the servants of the people have a right, is it good reasoning to say that the people, by whom and for whose benefit both they and the Government were created, are destitute of that right ? Or that the people's represent- atives, emanating immediately from the people, have noth- ing to do but to behold in silence the most flagrant viola- tions of their rights, and bow in silence to any power that may attempt to oppress them ? What line of conduct, then, does the Gentleman recommend ^ If the States be already reduced to that deplorable situation, that they have no right to remonstrate with men who may meditate their annihilation, it is time that we should retire to our homes and mournfully prepare for a fate which we are destined to submit to. " But the Committee, I trust, are actuated by other and nobler principles, and instead of taking exceptions . . . to the jurisdiction of this committee, will take up the resolutions and examine them, one by one. Should they deem those laws constitutional, I doubt not they will re- ject the resolutions; but if they think otherwise, they can- not object to so moderate and peaceable a measure as that of addressing the sister States.^ We do not pretend to set 1 "Addressing the sister States" is vastly different from nullifying a Federal law, so often said to be the teaching of Breckinridge's "Resolutions." THE KENTUCKY RESOLUTIONS 247 ourselves up as censors for the Union; but we will firmly express our own opinions, and call upon the other States to examine their political situation. I do aver . . . that the great political truths contained in those Resolutions cannot be controverted until republicanism and its votaries become extinct."^ The resolutions were adopted the same day, Novem- ber, loth, without a division, and practically, without amendment.^ They were then sent to the Senate, where they were unanimously adopted and, three days later, November 16, Governor Garrard approved them. Thus, without excitement, and almost without oppo- sition, did the Kentucky Legislature adopt the most sig- nificant and far-reaching measure recorded in the annals of the Commonwealth, for not only did it constitute an impor- tant step in Jefferson's well-laid plans for wresting the con- trol of the Federal Government from the hands of the tri- umphant Federalists, but it established the starting point for the aggressive doctrine of State sovereignty and nul- lification. It established only the starting point, however, for from all the facts in the case, it is quite evident that neither Breckinridge, nor the Kentucky Legislature which passed these resolutions, intended to set up the contention that a single State may nullify a Federal law. The word nul- 1 We have, of course, no verbatim reports of any of the speeches, but full summaries of those of Murray and Breckinridge are preserved in the newspapers of the period, e. g., "Frankfort Palladium," of November 13 and 20, 1798. 2 The amendments agreed to were as follows: "In the last line but one of the Sixth Resolution, before the word 'negative,' it was agreed to insert 'quali- fied.' In the Ninth Resolution, twenty-fifth line, after the word 'are,' it was agreed to insert 'tamely'; and in the Ninth Resolution, sixty-seventh line, for 'necessarily,' it was agreed to substitute 'may tend to.' " The "Frankfort Pal- ladium," November 13, 1798. 248 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY lify nowhere appears in the document, and the idea of nuUification by a single State is carefully excluded. It is true that Jefferson, in his draft of the resolutions, explicitly states, "that every State has a natural right, in cases not within the compact, {casus non foederis^ to nul- lify of their own authority all assumptions of power by others within their limits;" ^ but this clause Breckinridge removed from the resolutions before introducing them into the Kentucky Legislature, and it never came before that body. The same is true in the case of the words, of similar import, with which the eighth article of the Jeffer- son draft closed: viz.: "that the co-States recurring to their natural right, in cases not made federal, will concur in declaring these acts void and of no force, and will each take measures of its own for providing that neither these acts, nor any others of the general government, not plainly and intentionally authorized by the Constitution, shall be exercised within their respective territories." ^ Had Breck- inridge contemplated proclaiming any such doctrine as that so clearly expressed in these words of Jefferson, he would certainly have retained them, as he did retain the most of what Jefferson had prepared for his use. Instead, he carefully excluded them, and in the last clause of his Ninth Resolution, asked, "that the Co-States recurring to their natural right in cases not made federal, will concur in declaring these acts void and of no force, and will each unite with this Commonwealth in requesting their repeal at the next session of Congress." In the debate over the pending resolutions, Breckinridge made clear what kind of nullification he had in mind, and it was in the light of 1 " Jefferson Draft," Article 8. 2 Ibid., Article 8, final clause. THE KENTUCKY RESOLUTIONS 249 this explanation that the Kentucky Legislature adopted the resolutions. "If," he said, "upon the representations of the States from which they derive their powers, they [Congress] should, nevertheless, attempt to enforce them [the acts in question], I hesitate not to declare it as my opinion, that it is then the right and duty of the several States to nullify these acts and to protect their citizens from their operation. But I hope and trust such an event will never happen, and that Congress will always have sufficient virtue, wisdom, and prudence, upon the representation of a majority of the States, to expunge all obnoxious laws whatever." yy^'^ The inference is clear that Breckinridge, and with him, J'^ , ^cyy^^ the Kentucky Legislature, intended these resolutions tol^^^^ ^,. mean that if a majority of the States deemed an act ^/Jy^^^I ' of Congress unconstitutional and oppressive, and peti-/'/^ tioned Congress for its repeal, and Congress still per-'-""] ^ sisted in the obnoxious law, it would then be the duty of that majority of States to declare that law void, and to protect their citizens from its operation. To read more than this into the Kentucky Resolutions of 1798 is to vio- late fair and equitable canons of interpretation, and this is a very different doctrine from the doctrine that a single State may nullify a Federal law.^ It is, therefore, fair to say that, while the Jefferson draft of the resolutions does clearly embody the doctrine of nullification, exemplified by South Carolina in 1832, no such doctrine can be found in the Ketitucky Resolutions of lygS. They clearly assert the doctrine of States' rights, 1 For elaboration of this line of argument, see "Southern Bivouac" of May, 1886, article by Col. R. T. Durrett. 250 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY but they look only to the repeal of unconstitutional laws passed by the Federal Government; while the Jefferson draft looks clearly to the nullification of such acts, and that by a single State of the Union. The Jefferson draft, there- fore, and not the Kentucky Resolutions, must stand as the logical antecedent of the South Carolina doctrine of nulli- fication by a single State. But the Kentucky Resolutions of 1798, undoubtedly stand as the classical exposition of the compact theory of the Constitution, and, as such, they remained for two generations the standard of orthodoxy for the Democratic party. Having thus proclaimed her views with reference to State and Nation, Kentucky waited to learn what response the co-States would make to her bold resolutions, and it was not long before these replies began to arrive.^ The little State of Delaware was the first to answer, curtly characterizing the Kentucky Resolutions, "as a very unjustifiable interference with the General Govern- ment, and constituted authorities of the United States, and of dangerous tendency, and, therefore, not fit subjects for further consideration of this General Assembly." Rhode Island replied that while, in her opinion, "the Sedition and Alien Laws (so called), . . . are within the powers delegated to Congress," the Constitution "vests in the Federal courts, exclusively, and in the Supreme Court of the United States, ultimately, the au- thority of deciding on the constitutionality of any act or law of the Congress of the United States." Massachusetts sent a long argument attempting to 1 Full text of all the replies, Elliot's "Debates," 1861 Ed., IV, pp. S32-539; Niles "Register," Supplement to Vol. XLIII, Baltimore, Franklin Press, May, 1833- THE KENTUCKY RESOLUTIONS 25 1 prove that the Alien and Sedition laws were not only authorized by the Constitution, but demanded by the pressing needs of the times. She also pointed out that to the Supreme Court alone, is given the right to decide questions of constitutionality. New York denounced the Kentucky Resolutions as, "inflammatory and pernicious," and disclaimed any right "to supervise the acts of the General Govern- ment." Over two months then elapsed before the fifth reply, that of Connecticut, was received, and it was also an un- compromising condemnation. It was followed, a few weeks later, by a curt and some- what menacing resolution from New Hampshire, declaring "a firm resolution to maintain and defend the Constitu- tion of the United States . . . against every aggression, either foreign or domestic;" and pointing out that the duty of deciding upon the constitutionality of Federal laws, "is properly and exclusively confided to the Judicial De- partment." The last reply was from the new State of Vermont. It declared the Resolutions "unconstitutional in their nature, and dangerous in their tendency," and repeated the statement that it belongs not to State Legislatures, but to the Federal courts, to decide upon the constitutionality of Federal laws. Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, North Carolina, Tennessee, South Carolina and Georgia all maintained a discreet silence. Virginia, alone, of all the States of the Union, took her place by the side of Kentucky, not, however, by way of reply, but by open cooperation, as the Monticello confer- 252 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY ence had decided she should. Madison, if not a member of that conference, at least was a party to its plans. He, like Breckinridge, had received a copy of the Jefferson draft for use in his own Legislature. Like Breckinridge, also, he had exercised the right to alter it and, in a greatly modified form,^ had secured its introduction into the Vir- ginia Legislature, where it was readily adopted. Although milder in tone than the preceding Resolutions of Kentucky, these Virginia Resolutions took much the same ground. "In case of a deliberate, palpable and dan- gerous exercise of other powers, not granted by the said compact, the States, who are parties thereto, have the right, and are in duty bound, to interpose, for arresting the progress of the evil, and for maintaining, within their re- spective limits, the authorities, rights, and liberties, apper- taining to them." They declare that the Alien and Se- dition Acts are unconstitutional, but against them go only the length of praying the co-States, "that the necessary and proper measures will be taken by each for cooperating with this State, in maintaining unimpaired, the authorities, rights, and liberties, reserved to the States respectively, or to the people." This, likewise, is vastly different from the proposition that a single State alone may nullify a Federal law, which doctrine, although it is the logical outcome of Jefferson's original draft of the Resolutions of 1798, is not 1 Madison had completely rewritten the "Resolutions" and given them to John Tyler to introduce into the Virginia House of Burgesses. They had been passed, on December 24, 1798, by the House. The Senate and the Governor had at once approved them, and they had been circulated just as those of Ken- tucky had been. Text of the "Virginia Resolutions" of 1798, Elliot's "De- bates," 1861 Ed., IV, pp. 528-529. For Madison's Report on the "Virginia Resolutions," an argument in reply to the objections urged against them by the various States who returned answers; Ibid., pp. 546-580, also Niles "Register," Supplement to Vol. XLIH. THE KENTUCKY RESOLUTIONS 253 that of either the Kentucky or the Virginia Resolutions as finally adopted by the Legislatures of those States. Although Jefferson's plan, to have the Legislatures of such States, as still remained Republican, pass resolutions censuring the Administration for the enactment of the Alien and Sedition Acts, had thus succeeded in only two States, the object which he felt to be the most important, had been accomplished. The country was fully aroused to the principles underlying the hated laws, and petitions for their repeal poured into Congress. These petitions were referred to a committee, which promptly reported ad- versely. The Republicans, of course, appreciated that this report would be passed by a party vote, but they were resolved to attract as much attention as possible to the rejection of the petitions, by vigorously debating every point which could be raised. The Federalists were as anxious to prevent debate, and to pass the report quietly. Jefferson, in a letter to Madison tells the story of the con- flict which took place in the House over the matter.^ "Yesterday witnessed a scandalous scene in the House of Representatives. It was the day for taking up the report of their committee against the Alien and Sedition Laws, etc. They held a caucus and decided that not a word should be spoken on their side, in answer to anything that might be said on the other. Gallatin took up the Alien, and Nicho- las,2 the Sedition Law, but after a little while of common silence, they began to enter into loud conversations, laugh, cough, etc., so that for the last hour of these gentlemen's speaking, they must have had the lungs of a vendue master 1 Randall's " Jefferson," 1858 Ed., II, p. 479. The letter is dated Feb- ruary 26, lygg. 2 John Nicholas, of Virginia. 254 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY to have been heard. Livingston, however, attempted to speak. But after a few sentences, the Speaker called him to order, and told him what he was saying was not to the question. It was impossible to proceed. The question was taken and carried in favor of the report, fifty-two to forty-eight." The effect of this, and of similar unwise attempts on the part of the Federalists to avoid the discussion of their laws, while, at the same time, declining to repeal them, could not fail to weaken their cause, and Jefferson was politician enough to see that publicity was given to every fact which could influence public opinion. "The materials now bearing on the public mind," he wrote, in February, 1799,^ "will infallibly restore it to its republican sound- ness, in the course of the present summer, if the knowl- edge of the facts can only be disseminated among the people." Jefferson returned to Monticello at the close of the ses- sion, and at once began arranging to have Kentucky and Virginia repeat the declarations laid down in the resolu- tions of the previous year. On September 5, he wrote to Col. W. C. Nicholas,^ then in Kentucky, suggesting the line of action which he, in consultation with Madison, deemed it desirable that both Virginia and Kentucky should adopt, in reply to the opinions recently sent them by other States. To be silent, he argued, might seem too much hke placidly acquiescing in those opinions. "Vir- ginia and Kentucky should pursue the same track on this 1 Jefferson to Archibald Stuart, February 13, 1799, " Jefferson's Works," Memorial Ed., 1903, X, p. 104. 2 "Jefferson's Works," Memorial Ed., 1903, X, pp. 130-132. A previous note, dated Monticello, August 26, 1799, mentions the desire for Kentucky and Virginia to act together. Ibid., p. 129. THE KENTUCKY RESOLUTIONS 255 occasion." They should answer "the reasonings of such of the States as have ventured into the field of reason, and that of the Committee of Congress, taking some notice, too, of those States w^ho have either not answered at all, or answered without reasoning." They should express warm attachment to the Union, and declare themselves, "willing to look on with indulgence, and wait with patience, till those passions and delusions shall have passed over, which the Federal Government have artfully excited to cover its own abuses, and conceal its designs; fully confident that the good sense of the American people, and their attach- ment to those rights which we are now vindicating, will, before it shall be too late, rally with us, round the true principles of our Federal compact. . . ." This letter, though written to Nicholas, was, of course, intended for the Republican leaders of Kentucky and Vir- ginia, and the program therein outlined was followed at the opening of the Kentucky Legislature, in November, though the leaders showed, by the form and substance given to their resolution, that again, as in 1798, they had their own ideas as to what was best. The leadership in this case, as in the last, fell to John Breckinridge, now Speaker of the Kentucky Mouse of Rep- resentatives, and, in a letter to Jefferson, written several weeks later,^ he explains just what took place. " I took the liberty," he says, "by the last post, of inclosing to you the proceedings of our Legislature (now in Session) in support of their Resolutions, of the last Session, respecting the Alien and Sedition Laws. It was at the opening of the Session concluded to make no reply, but, lest an im- 1 December 9, 1799. Quoted by Warfield, " Kentucky Resolutions of 1798," pp. 122-123. 256 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY proper construction should be put on silence, we drew up the paper which I inclosed you. In the lower House (of which I am a member), there was not a dissenting voice. In the Senate, there was considerable division, particularly on that sentence which declares 'a nullification of those acts by the States to be the rightful remedy.' ^ It has so happened that what little Federal influence exists among us, is, at present, concentrated in the Senate. The election of Senators in every district under our new Constitution, and which must be made viva voce, by the people, instead of by electors, will extinguish even this little influence. The great mass of the people are lincontaminated and firm, and as all appointments now flow from the people, those who hold sentiments contrary to theirs, will be dis- carded." What Breckinridge does not tell is the fact that this document had been drawn and presented by himself. These Resolutions of 1799, ^° called, consist of a general response to the States which sent negative replies to the resolutions of the previous year, and a single resolution, firmly reasserting the principles of those former resolu- tions, but also containing the following nullification words, not found in them: "That the ^several states who formed that instrument (the Constitution), being sovereign and independent, have the unquestionable right to judge of its infraction; and 1 The exact phraseology of the clause here referred to is: "That a nullifica- tion, by those sovereignties, of all unauthorized acts done under colour of that in- strument, is the rightful remedy," John Pope had tried to persuade the Senate to strike out the above phrase and insert in its place the words, "the right of remonstrating and protesting against such law, belong to the States." This amendment had been carried in the committee, but rejected by the Senate by a majority of only one, the original phrase with its clear nullification sentiment having been thus restored. THE KENTUCKY RESOLUTIONS 257 that a nullification, by those sovereignties, of all unau- thorized acts done under colour of that instrument, is the rightful remedy." Even these v^ords, it will be observed, fall far short of the South Carolina doctrine, or even that avowed in the Jefferson draft of the Resolutions of 1798. Those assert the right of a single State to nullify a Federal law; this, of "the several States who formed that instrument." It is the difference between one and many: or, if we interpret the meaning of the Resolutions of 1799 as we interpreted the meaning of those of 1798, by the speech of Breckin- ridge, it is the difference between nullification by a single State, and nullification by a majority of all the sovereign States: for the nearest that Breckinridge approaches to the doctrine of nullification, as asserted by Mr. Jefferson, was in the declaration that a majority of the States may de- clare null and void an act of Congress plainly unauthorized by the Constitution. That this was Kentucky's theory upon the subject was clearly proved when, a majority of the States having failed to approve her position, the Resolution of 1799 closed with the perfectly lawful declaration: "That altho' this commonwealth, as a party to the federal compact, will bow to the laws of the Union, yet it does at the same time declare, that it will not now, nor ever hereafter, cease to oppose in a constitutional manner every attempt from what quarter soever offered, to violate that compact." Against the laws which the co-States have refused to nul- lify, she simply enters her "Solemn Protest." To bow to the laws of the Union which the co-States refuse to nullify, and to content herself with opposing them in a constitutional manner, and to solemnly protest against Kentucky — 17 258 KENTUCKY IN THE NATION'S HISTORY them, is a very different conception from that upon which South Carolina acted in 1832. Having passed the House and Senate, and having re- ceived the approval of the Governor, the Resolutions of 1799, were sent forth to the Legislatures of the co-States. The text here given is taken from one of eight hundred copies printed for distribution by order of the Kentucky Legislature, immediately after their adoption.^ KENTUCKY LEGISLATURE In the House of Representatives, November 14, 1799 The house, according to the standing order of the day, resolved itself into a committee of the whole house on the state of the commonwealth, Mr. Desha in the chair, and after some time spent therein the speaker resumed the chair, and Mr. Desha reported tJiat the committee had taken under consideration sundry resolutions passed by several state legis- latures on the subject of the alien and sedition laws, and had come to a resolution thereupon, which he delivered in at the clerk's table, where it was read and unanimously agreed to by the house, as folloius: The representatives of the good people of this com- monwealth in general assembly convened, having maturely considered the answers of sundry states in the Union, to their resolutions passed at the last session, respecting cer- tain unconstitutional laws of Congress, commonl)- called the alien and sedition laws, would be faithless indeed to themselves, and to those they represent, were they silently to acquiesce in the principles and doctrines attempted to * Original, Durrett collection. .ENTUCKY LEGISLATURE. In the Jloufe of licprelcnlatives, NOVEMBER loM, 1798- lilt HOUSK wroidin; lo tbc fticJnn OiJtr of Jlie Oij, nSdiil itfclf l«(o > Coromittet of the Whole «n the fttfc ui clie Cu«&nyuM«AKfi» :. . Mr. CALmVELLiiMhe Chair. " ' ' fjinrtimf f|imt jhcrtin iht Sfmlui relumed , mJ Mr. Caldwell rcjKSIeJ, th^tlhc Com- l:ja iccurdlof to frilcr had nrvJer conl?deratiori •uc Ca«cmut*l Addrefi, and hai eanx to the fulliw. iag Riiot-VTjoNs thercui>on. which he delivered in •t the Clerk'f table, whne the/ wnr twice read and agreed to by the Houfc. Jtv compofing tlic United Stntesof America, are not united on the jirinrlple of anlimited (\ibmifiioii Co their General GoTcrnment ; but that bjr coinpafl under tlie ftyle and title ol" a Conditulion f»r the United States and oT ainendnunts thereto, they conftitnted a CenernI Go- Tcrnment for fpecial piirpofes, diiltRated to that Government crriain definite pow- cr>, referving each (late to Itfelf, the r»- fiUuary mafa of right to their own felf Government J and that whenfocver the Ceoerat Government afTiunei ondelcKated powers, itsa^s are unauthoritative, void, • ntJ of no foree : That to tVis compnft each ftate at:ct\tA ai a (late, nnd U an integral party, Iti co-Rates forniing »•; to ilfelf, tlie other party 1 That the Govern- ment created by \\\\t compaft w.u nut made the exelnfivc or final judt',e of the «itent of the powers delegated to itfelf ; fiuce that would havemjde its difcretior, and not the conftitntioii, 'the meafure of Ui pow'era ; bnt thai »» in nil other cares of compafh among parties having no com- mon Jodge, each party has an equal rigiit to judge for Itfelf, as well of iiifmlioni •s of the mode and meafure of redrels. II. Refolved, that the ConftltiKlon of ifl« United States h.u'';nc delegated to Cni-^reH a power to piinifli trc^fcn, coun- terfeiting the feciiritlej and current coin of the United Stntej, piraciei and felonies com:nitted en the HiRh Seal, and offen-, cei againd the laws of nationi, and no o- ther crimes whatever, and it being true 'as a general principle, and one of the amendments In the Cnnnitiitlon having alfo declareil, " that the pnwerj n.>t de- legated to the I'nlied States by the Clon- ftitu'ion,'hor prohibited by it to the (1ate<. arereferved to the dates refpeflively, or to the people," ther